Villains and Heroes
by thatcutellamachan
Summary: As the newest supervillain, Merlin is quickly consumed by love of villainy, magic, and the son of the king of heroes, Arthur Pendragon.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning to reader, I'm American-British, so my characters all decided to be American-British. That means I might call a garbage a 'rubbish bin' or a 'trash can' in the span of two paragraphs and not even notice. At least I'm better than my Hispanic friend who can start a sentence in English and end in incomprehensible, heavily accented, Spanish.**

**So... who wants a Merlin/Arthur superhero story?**

...

It all began when Merlin just couldn't take it anymore.

...

Merlin's grin almost split his face in half. "Money!" He cried out, grabbing Hunith's arm. Ignoring her cross face and her tense posture, Merlin laughed out loud. "Look at it!" He grabbed a fistful of bills from the ground and shoved them into his mother's shocked hands. "We're rich!" He shouted, every syllable dripping with glee, "Rich! We are rich!"

"I love that you're so happy," Hunith said in quiet monotone. She dropped the money from her hands as if the bills were poison.

Merlin sighed with contentment. He fell back, landing on the ground gently, and lifted a gold bar to his face like a pillow. "Anything we want," he sighed.

Hunith stepped over to him. Her arms crossed, her lips tight, she was the very figure of an avenging angel; but all that Merlin could see as he looked up at her were Salvation Army clothes and tired eyes. "Merlin," she said.

"Anything we want," Merlin repeated, "_anything_. You never have to work again."

Hunith's worn shoes lightly kicked Merlin's head. "Put it back," she ordered softly.

Merlin sat up. "_Mother_," he protested.

"Back!" Hunith demanded, "Every last penny! Back where it was!" Her chest heaving, she gestured to the abundant wealth now squandered about their small living room. "What do we need this for?"

"Food!" Merlin shouted, indignant, "The gas bill! Electricity!"

"How MUCH MONEY DID YOU STEAL?" Hunith shouted. Merlin's eyes widened slightly, and he didn't reply. "How _much_?" Hunith's words were laced with venom_, _"How much money did you, the son _I_ raised to be _better than this_, steal?"

"A few..." Merlin struggled to say.

"Million?" Hunith finished. Merlin gave her a slight nod. Hunith closed her eyes. "This goes back," she announced, turning away.

"No," Merlin said softly. He stood up to his feet, and then louder repeated, "No!"

Hunith snapped to face him. "_'No'_?" She repeated. "No?"

"You can't rob a bank and take the money back an hour later!" Merlin reminded her. "Mother, _please_," he grabbed her arm, "we can go on _vacations_, we don't have to work,I can go to a real school, you can go to a spa, you can quit your job at... at," the word was painful to say, "_Hooters_. Alright? Come on!" He tugged on her arm.

"Do you realize how you're dressed?" Hunith asked pointedly.

Merlin glanced for a moment down at his clothes. "I took off the mask," he tried. He was wearing knee-high black leather combat boots, skin-tight black leather, elbow reaching leather gloves and a long, black cape that fell around his shoulders to his ankles; Merlin liked it.

Hunith broke his grip on her arms. "You're dressed like a _villain_," she said sadly.

"I robbed a bank, I_ am_ a villain." Merlin tried to touch her hand for reassurance, but Hunith recoiled at the touch of the long leather gloves.

"You could have tried to get into the school the next year," Hunith told him, "we could have saved enough tuition."

Merlin smirked. "We have enough tuition money now," he reminded her. Hunith glared. "I'll be a _super_villain," Merlin told her, trying for some acceptance, "the very best. You can be proud." And when she didn't reply, he added, "Proud and rich. We can't forget rich."

"We don't _need_ money," Hunith informed him.

"The bills on the counter say otherwise," Merlin pointed out.

Hunith sighed. Dejected, she sat down on the couch, dislodging a large stack of bills as she did so. "Merlin, what are we going to do? If the police find us, if _Ultraman_ finds us..."

"I just robbed a bank," Merlin tried to smile, "We'll lay low now. I'll go to the Hero school next year, I'll be a hero."

Hunith dropped her head in her hands. "Pay for Hero University with stolen money?" She mumbled.

"I know it's not ideal," Merlin sat down on the couch next to her, "but I... I thought... I mean, I have these incredible abilities, why can't I use them for _us_?"

"We're just two people," Hunith reminded him, "there are _millions_ in Metropolis, _billions_ in the world, what gives me and you the right to steal? Merlin, you _can't_ do this, you _can't_ become this."

"We deserved our lucky break, I have _powers_, Mother, and I've never been able to be trained because we can't afford it, and for years we've struggled just to keep this horrible apartment!" Merlin sat up, suddenly angry, and kicked the wall. Then, off course, his foot hurt and he hopped around for several minutes on one foot until he eventually lost his balance because combat boots really weren't the easiest things to balance in and he fell on the ground.

Hunith laughed at him, and Merlin smiled up at her.

"I felt _alive_," he told her, awe in his voice, "for the first time I could just, _use_ all of my powers. I made _chaos_ and it felt _great_."

Hunith's laugher faded, but she looked thoughtfully at Merlin. "No one dies," she said sternly.

"Of course," Merlin nodded.

In despair, Hunith glanced around their apartment. "How much more money do you _want_?" She sighed.

Merlin's eyes shone gold with excitement. "We start with a huge penthouse, in one of those nice apartment buildings, and I figure that in about ten years we'll run out of all this money, but with eating and buying clothes, _fancy _clothes, and furniture and paintings and air conditioners and everything and anything there is, we'll be done in a week."

Hunith's eyes widened. "A week? How are we going to spend millions in a week?"

"Donations! We'll get the name Emrys in every museum and charity event in the world!" Merlin jumped up, landing on the soles of his combat boots, and his cape swished behind him as if it was meant to be there. "So I'll just have to get us some more money!"

"More?" Hunith said, pale-faced.

...

Merlin's mask was porcelain, like a doll, and was made to fit perfectly on his face, covering everything except for his eyes. Attatched to it was a wig, a brilliant wig in his mind, with wild, exciting, long, black and red hair. Pads on the shoulders made him look taller, padding on the clothing made him look fit. Little things made the perfect disguise. "I'm leaving for work!" He announced, loving the way his voice echoed in the new penthouse.

Hunith leaned against the door to her bedroom. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair seem locked into a bedhead, and she gripped a silk robe around her body with white knuckles. "We could be careful," she whispered, "we don't need any more money."

"Once more," Merlin said, not meaning the words, "just a bit more and we'll be fine."

"I'll watch you on the telly," Hunith promised, her hands shaking.

Merlin smiled, ignoring her worried demeanor. "I'll be the supervillain robbing the Safety Bank," he announced flippantly.

...

Merlin landed in front of the bank, enjoying the look of shock on people's faces as they saw him. His hands tingled with power, and the huge, marble doors of Safety bank opened for him.

The lobby had fancy chairs, the roof was stories high, there were seventeen tellers working, and about a hundred people were inside the room and it wasn't even crowded. They all stopped to stare.

"Don't worry," Merlin held up his hands as if to assure, "I'm just here to rob the place."

He stepped forward, reaching a hand toward the tellers, and instantly the glass shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Several people screamed, but no one was moving. No one except Merlin. Gleefully, he hopped forward.

An artistic, expensive looking couch caught his eyes. "Gotta get me one of those!" Merlin announced happily. Someone, Merlin didn't know who, snorted. Merlin's eyes flashed golden. "Alright," he growled, "down to business." He lept forward and landed in front of a terrified, cringing, pimply bank teller. "Where are the keys to your vaults?"

When the man didn't answer, Merlin grabbed his tie, lifting him up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Merlin noticed that the man was wearing a bow tie and therefore had excellent taste; that wasn't important. "WHERE?" He shouted, shaking the teller.

"Wh... who are you?" The teller asked, eyes huge.

"Who am _I_?" Merlin raised the teller over his head, "I asked _you_ a question."

"But... I've never seen you before," the teller whimpered, but bravely continued, "most of the villains are in jail right now, and you're not one of the ones I recall."

"I'm Magic," Merlin invented the name on the spot. "_Now_," he reached his hand down and a piece of glass flew into it. He raised the glass to the teller's neck, threatening him, "Give me the keys NOW!" Under his mask and cloak, Merlin cringed.

"I... I..." the bank teller stuttered.

"LET the CITIZEN down immediately!" A new voice announced.

Merlin turned, not relenting his grip on the bank teller. The first thing he noticed was the camera man filming in the enterance of the bank and he thought, _My mother is watching this_. The next thing he realized was Ultraman's shining golden figure in the doorway. Merlin knew immediately that he should be scared.

"RELEASE THE MAN!" Ultraman ordered, his hands on his hips, "Or I shall be FORCED to defeat you!"

"I grew up listening to stories about you on the news," Merlin informed him as a reply, surprising himself by the venom in his voice, "I always wanted to be a _hero_, just like you. See how well it turned out?" Merlin drew the bank teller closer, holding him like a hostage.

The teller whimpered.

"Evil never triumphs." Ultraman's famous line was not impressive when delivered in person. Ultraman's golden outfit shone in the light, but when he stepped into the bank the shadow's cast long, dark lines over it until even the 'U' on his chest was unrecognizable. Even with his many years in the business, he had never slowed down, never been defeated, and never, ever, let a villain get away. He was the king of all the superheroes, whereas this was Merlin's second day on the job.

Ultraman took a step forward, and Merlin took three long steps back. "I know exactly what you are, I've seen hundreds of you," Ultraman told him, "you're a child, a scared child, who thinks you can make it in this dangerous game. This is your warning, back out now while you have a chance."

_Okay, magic powers, this is your chance, teleport me out of here._ Merlin looked carefully at Ultraman, stalling, he asked, "I'm too far in, I can't get out, can I?" _I know no one has ever been able to teleport, but now would be a really good time for a new power, don't you think?_ Merlin's magic held out, he could feel it, tingling under his fear, but it refused to be coaxed into action.

"Everyone can receive redemption," Ultraman announced.

Merlin, his eyes drifting to the camera, could see a reporter whispering words into a microphone. What was his mother doing right now as she watched Ultraman prepared to beat the snot out of her son? Merlin thought instantly of his mother sitting in her old rocking chair, knitting a hat, making a comment to one of her friends about Merlin's _abhorrent_ hair, and he laughed aloud.

Confused, even Ultraman froze.

And Merlin could feel his magic surging back up to him again. "Oh, silly little hero!" He announced dramatically, the happiness swelling up inside him alond with his magic. "You have no _idea_ what is in store for you at the hands of the Magic Man!"

"I thought it was just 'Magic'," the teller whispered.

"Shut up," Merlin dropped the teller to the ground.

Ultraman cracked his knucked. "I suppose I'll have to bring you in the hard way," he growled.

"_Please_," Merlin replied, "you're too old, and frankly, not my type."

Ultraman froze, not used to this sort of banter.

"I prefer, men much younger, with the soft, underspoken muscles, and most likely brown hair," Merlin continued, "you're too over-the-top, and rather corny."

Ultraman's eyes narrowed.

Merlin gulped. It was him and his magic against the unbeatable hero, nothing could go wrong.

Ultraman surged forward, pulling his fist back. Merlin let out a rather undignified shout of surprise, and, as it was the best solution, ran.

...

Ultraman's limp body lay under the bricks.

"Oh," Merlin gasped in shock, bringing his hands up to his mouth, "my, God." He tiptoed over to Ultraman and lightly kicked him in the head with his dust covered combat boot. Ultraman groaned, and Merlin sighed in gratitude. "Thank God," Merlin told the unconscious formerly-undefeated hero, "if you were dead my mother would have killed me."

Under the bank, in one of the vaults, no one was there to witness Merlin's cheap triumph. The blow Merlin had given to Ultraman's head had been sheer beginner's luck and that was obvious, he had a bleeding lip, and more bruises than he could count to attest to his abysmal hand-to-hand combat skills; the magic causing Ultraman to trip had not actually been meant to be there, and the wall which Ultraman broke with the sheer force of a momentarily magically-made-unprotected head had been entirely the architect of the bank's fault.

"Well," Merlin placed his hands on his hips. "Looks like I win." There was just _no way_ this had just happened, Merlin's stupid magic, not enough of a power to get him a scholarship to Hero U, could not have just taken down _Ultraman_. But Ultraman was on the floor, unresponsive, so Merlin did the three things everyone would do.

First, he took off Ultraman's mask.

And, second, when the shock wore off, Merlin walked into the vault and came out carrying as much money as he could stuff in his outfit and carry in this hands.

Third, he let the camera see him coming out of the bank.

...

Hunith counted the money, and Merlin watched her happily out of the corner of his eye. Lounged out on their couch, his combat boots and mask laid carelessly on the floor, he rested his aching body.

"I beat Ultraman," Merlin sang.

"Congratulations," Hunith said dully, "you've obstructed justice."

Merlin grinned. "It feels wonderful," he stretched out, his muscles crying with every movement.

...

**This is your review reminder. Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

** One of my reviewers is psychic.**

…

Uther Pendragon sat down at his office, his hands folded, his face crossed into a furious scowl.

"Have you heard what they're saying?" The Girl Wonder slammed a headline down on Uther's desk.

"I've seen the papers," Uther informed her dully.

"The death of good," the Girl Wonder read, "new supervillain, the Magic Man, bests Ultraman in under ten minutes."

"It was a much longer fight than ten minutes," Uther said to himself. The Girl Wonder glared at him. For a woman who could look so youthful in pink spandex, Uther knew she was nearing her fiftieth birthday, but she, like him, had never stopped crimefighting.

For the first time, Uther was questioning that.

"I'm old," he realized suddenly.

"Nonsense, you're fifty-three," the Girl Wonder dismissed the thought.

"No, Jessice," Uther refered to her directly and the Girl Wonder, Jessice, looked up at him in surprise. "I'm fifty-three, you're forty-nine, and we're still fighting the same war we were fighting when we were twenty." Uther stood up, his gaze drawn to the golden suit thrown carelessly on a coffeetable. "Inhuman abilities doesn't make us inhuman, almost one percent of the population now has abilities, superheroes are commonplace."

"Not_ super_heroes, there are people with abilities who are heroes, and then there are others who are _super_heroes, like Mother Theresa and... and Ultraman," the Girl Wonder assured.

"Something has to change," Uther realized.

The Girl Wonder laughed nervously. "_One_ defeat and you're ready to quit? In the world of comics, Superman was defeated hundreds of times, Batman too," she reminded him.

"In the real world a hero can't afford to lose," Uther told her, "I would never have lost to that clumsy oaf of a villain even five years ago, but I feel _tired__**, **_Jessice."

The Girl Wonder sighed. Accepting this, she'd been expecting it, she asked, "Then what do you want to do?"

"Why can't a hero retire?" Uther asked her, a slight smile on his lips.

"The villains will come after you for revenge anyway," the Girl Wonder answered immediately.

Uther chuckled. "They don't know who we are, they've never been able to find out, not Spiderlord, not Nova, not any of my trademark villains. We could-"

The Girl Wonder interrupted. "Not until the Magic Man, he _saw _you without your mask, Uther, and I'm pretty sure he'll recognize the richest man in the world."

"The Magic Man isn't a real adversary," Uther told her, "he won't do anything with the information. He was some kid trying to make a quick buck-"

"He ran off with four million dollars in bonds," the Girl Wonder interrupted again, "that's some quick buck."

"_Regardless_, the only power I saw him use was a tempermental telekinesis, one power isn't enough to make it in this game," Uther informed her, "the Magic Man, if he surfaces again, will just be a minor villain trying to get as much money as he can."

"He now has credibility," the Girl Wonder told him, "he defeated you, he'll have out of work assassins and soldiers and minions lining up at his door."

"The Magic Man will be the next generation's problem. I think it's time for the Justice Union to retire."

The Girl Wonder's eyes widened. "_All_ of us?"

"Name one of us who isn't nearing fifty, name _one _of us who is at the top of their game," Uther challenged.

The Girl Wonder couldn't.

"The purpose of Hero University, we all know, was to train those with powers to use them for good and to select the future generation to protect the world, and to protect the city of Metropolis. Why do we have to wait until we are dead to announce our successors?" Uther gently touched the cape of his suit with one hand, as if saying a silent goodbye.

"I know who you are going to choose for a successor," the Girl Wonder said, her voice suddenly harsh, "and I want you to know that he should never have been accepted into Hero University in the first place and he'd never be ready to replace you."

"Arthur will learn," Uther announced stubbornly.

"Just because he's your son doesn't mean he's you." The Girl Wonder crossed her arms.

"Jessice," Uther warned.

"_Uther_," the Girl Wonder countered.

Uther sighed. "Your warning has been noted, and will be ignored," he said.

"He'll die out there," the Girl Wonder told him.

"_Why_? Because he has _one_ power? There have been many heroes with one ability!" Uther argued.

"And _none_ of those heroes lived _past twenty-five_!" The Girl Wonder shouted.

Uther frowned. "Arthur will be different, he's _my_ son."

"Can you just accept that your son is not meant to do the same work you do?" The Girl Wonder asked harshly.

Uther laughed. "_Ultraman's_ son? What do you want Arthur to be? A _banker_? An _accountant_?"

"At least those jobs won't get him killed," the Girl Wonder announced.

Uther shook his head, "No," he said, "you choose who you will, and I will choose Arthur. Inform the other members of the Justice Union my decision."

Seething, the Girl Wonder relented.

...

Merlin was sitting at the dinner table, in skinny jeans, converse, and a shirt bearing the legend 'Error 404, Request not found', and Hunith was next to him, wearing a flower-print dress Merlin had picked out for her. "Eat something," Merlin said quietly, pushing a plate of his mother's favorite, chicken parmesan, in front of her.

"I told you, Merlin, I'm not hungry." Hunith crossed her arms.

Merlin frowned. Tense, he took his own fork, spearing the meat on his place with malice. Then he sat back, staring at his food, and he crossed his arms in a perfect imitation of his mother.

"You don't have to stop eating because of me," Hunith said quietly, reaching over to Merlin. Her hand just brushed against his shoulder and Merlin stood up abruptly.

"What _do you want_?" Merlin shouted at her. "We have MONEY! We have a NICE HOME! We HAVE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING AND YOU GLARE AT ME LIKE YOU'RE DISSAPPOINTED THAT I DID THIS!" Chest heaving, he slammed his hands down on the table and glared at her.

"I am," Hunith said, not threatened by Merlin's actions.

"You're WHAT?" Merlin demanded.

"I'm disappointed in you," Hunith told him.

Merlin's face contorted in confusion. "I _GOT_ US WHAT WE NEEDED!" He stepped back from the table, knocking aside his chair.

"Did we _need_ a huge home? Did we _need_ millions of stolen dollars? Did we _need_ the papers declaring _my son_ as the next great _supervillain_?" Her voice caught in her throat. "Merlin, we don't _need _this."

"Like _you_ were doing so well caring for us," Merlin scorned. Guilt appeared on his face immediately, but Merlin didn't apologize.

"I think I'll retire to my room now," Hunith said, standing up.

"_I'll_ eat dinner!" Merlin shouted.

But when his mother had left, all Merlin could manage to swallow was a single bite, and even that felt heavy in his stomach. He dropped his head in his hands, and thought.

...

In his room, looking down at the people below from his window, Merlin pressed his forehead to the glass. The television on in the corner was announcing something else in the news, the Democrat candidate was beating the Republican candidate in some online poll, but Merlin could see, in the reflection on the glass, a reel constantly spinning on the channel. 'Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious'.

Merlin hated this feeling. It wasn't right. "I don't want to be the bad guy," Merlin said to himself.

'Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious; Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious; Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious; Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious.' The reel kept playing on the screen and Merlin watched it as if hypnotized.

"I wanted to be meant for something more." 'Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious.'

'Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious; Ultraman defeated, Magic Man victorious.'

"Supervillain," Merlin chuckled to himself. "An eighteen year-old supervillain living with his mother." 'Ultraman defeated.'

'Magic Man victorious.' "I wanted to be a superhero, defending everyone. What does a supervillain even do?"

The answer came immediately. _Whatever you want._

Merlin suddenly smiled. "I defeated Ultraman, I won. There's no one stronger than me now," Merlin laughed. "I won!" He said happily, and his magic surged in him as a response.

"I can destroy Hooters, steal any money I want, burn down my old high school!" A thought, a better thought, came to Merlin and he smiled, "I can destroy Hero University."

...

In order to perform Merlin's first great act of villainy, he needed barely any preparation and two million dollars. He already had the money, and he was very good at doing very little preparation.

As Magic Man, Merlin sat across from Violini. The music from the night club was loud, but they were in a room away from all of that, and Merlin was sourrounded by Violini's bodyguards, all too frightened to even come within three yards of him. Merlin rather enjoyed that fear.

"A bomb," Violini was saying.

Merlin shook his head, "No, just a collection of explosives, that's all."

Violini tapped on his chin, pretending to scruitinize Merlin. "The Magic Man himself comes to me for a little exploding magic?"

"No, explosives, that's not magic," Merlin informed him.

"Alright, alright," Violini waved him off, "what kind of explosives?"

"Something that can blow up steel," Merlin said. A bodyguard was looking at him funny, and so Merlin slowly turned his porcelain face to look at the bodyguard, who immediately started to tremble. Brown eyes, Merlin noted as he looked at the bodyguard, soft brown hair, muscles. Merlin smirked, "You work out?"

The bodyguard started. "Wh... what?"

_Coward_, Merlin thought, but that didn't stop him from appreciating the bodyguard's looks.

"You'll want either massive amounts of C4," Violini was saying, "or my latest bomb, but I warn you, neither option is cheap."

_The C4 would be better to make it look like an accident, the bomb would be showy. Everyone would immediately know I'd done it, or at least a villain had. _Violini was waiting for a reply. _So either do I go underspoken, or do I announce to the heavens that I'm the next great supervillain? _"How much do each cost?" Merlin asked.

"Depends on how thick the steel is that you want to break," Violini replied, searching for some hint as to what Merlin wanted to destroy.

"The side of a corner steel pillar of a skyscraper," Merlin answered.

Violini nodded to himself. "Well," he said, "I would prefer to know exactly what is going to be destroyed, so I don't have to be anywhere near it when it happens, know what I mean?"

"I'll give you that information after we make our transaction," Merlin told him, "you don't need to worry that I'll withhold it from you, you have been very helpful and I wouldn't mind doing business with you again." And because he couldn't resist, Merlin looked back at the bodyguard and added, "Especially with someone with such strapping, handsome guards."

Violini frowned. "They're supposed to be intimidating," he confided in Merlin.

"I am_ so_ not intimidated," Merlin winked at the guard.

Violini shuddered. "Anyway," he said, "C4 or bomb? Both cost half a million dollars."

"Bomb then," Merlin informed him. "And stay away from the Martin Accountancy Building."

Violini blinked. "You're destroying the accountant's building?"

"I have a thing against chartered accountancy," Merlin informed him.

...

Merlin walked, unchallenged, into the accountancy building wearing a boring grey suit and a bow tie, carrying a heavy silver case. He took the elevator to the basement and came out of the basement without the heavy silver case. Then he took the elevator to the forteenth floor, took the stairs to the sixteenth floor, and lit several fires in the unoccupied sixteenth floor. And then he took the elevator to the lobby and left the Martin Accountancy Building a few minutes before the alarm bells began ring and the building was evacuated.

Merlin, entering a nearby gas station, then had the unpleasant business of waiting for a very large, fat trucker to get out of the bathroom so he could change, and eventually just went into the girls bathroom, and the irony of it made him laugh as he struggled to pull his tight gloves over his leather clothes.

Merlin then walked happily to a park bench where he had a perfect view of Hero University. It seemed, as the Magic Man, that people were diliberately avoiding looking at him as he sat down or were taking pictures and videos of him with their cell phones. Merlin whistled to himself, first 'Raindrops are falling on my head', then Katy Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl', and eventually found himself stuck in 'This is the Song that Never Ends'.

That was definetly going to be a hit on Youtube, supervillain whistles Katy Perry.

Merlin, realizing he didn't have a watch, shouted to one of the people taking a video of him, "Have the time?"

Her hands shaking, the girl replied, "Two... uh... two twenty... uh... twenty eight."

"Seven minutes," Merlin said to himself.

"Seven minutes for what?" A very important, deep voice asked.

Merlin turned slightly around, to see a group of people wearing purple and gold 'Hero University shirts'. "Ah, the minions have arrived," Merlin smiled.

"We are heroes," a very pretty girl with black hair said, stepping forward.

Merlin's magic decided to be helpful. He had never met nor heard of this girl in his life, but his magic informed him, nicely, her name. "Ah, Morgana," Merlin said, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the pretty girl flinch.

"How do you know who she is?" The other girl in the group, a girl with skin slightly tanned and soft brown hair asked, her voice light.

Merlin took a moment to look at his four 'opponents'. First, there were two boys and two girls, so he had the idea that this was the classic team which had been formed by some teachers in the University. Second, they were all incredibly good-looking, like every hero should be, especially a blonde, tall, fit twenty-something standing slightly in the front like a leader. Merlin licked his lips.

"Answer her!" The other hero in the group, a dark haired, Spanish looking, rugged type demanded.

"Gweneviere, Arthur, and Lancelot," Merlin's magic named them and Merlin repeated it. "My, you're the top class at the University aren't you? Juniors, right? So, were you playing Ultimate Frisbee in the park and decided to ask for another player? Because I'd love to join."

"Next time you decide to lounge about in the park, you might consider doing it somewhere away from the sight of the University gym," Arthur warned. His hands clenched into fists, and there was something in his powerful gaze that left Merlin with the knowledge that a punch from him meant six months in the hospital.

"But then I'd miss out on this lovely view," Merlin informed him. And, crossing his legs, he smirked at Arthur, "Although I have to admit, it did just get better."

"You're riding on the fame of a fluke," Morgana growled, "how does that feel?"

"Let's see..." Merlin said to himself. Heroes were idiots, Merlin knew one of the first thngs they were taught was to get the villain to exercise some sort of emotion. What they didn't understand, was that Merlin always had to be emotional, his powers only responded to how he was feeling. "I'm rich, infamous, handsome, and rich, it feels wonderful," Merlin replied. And then, seriously, he asked, "How do _you _feel?"

"Surrender now," Arthur offered in a way that reminded Merlin, almost spookily, of Ultraman, "or we'll be forced to fight you."

"I'm a lover, not a fighter," Merlin said, exaggerated, "what about you, handsome?" Arthur recoiled.

And then they all heard an explosion. "Aha!" Merlin announced, jumping to his feet. "My evil plan is working!" Arthur was in front of Merlin in a second, and he reached out with a fist, prepared to knock Merlin to the side. Except his fist froze in midair.

"Wait there for just one second," Merlin told him, "I'll be right with you. Don't move." And Arthur couldn't even struggle.

The beam of the Martin Accountancy Building was vaporized, although only Merlin knew that at the moment. The building had been poorly built, but stable, and in a city like Metropolis, that spanned over twenty miles in every direction, that was all that mattered until Merlin realized that if the Martin Accountancy Building happened to fall over in the right direction, it would completely crush a certain building underneath it.

"Say goodbye to your school," Merlin said happily, "good thing it's Sunday, so no one's inside, right?"

The three others were in shock, they just stared as the Martin Accountancy Building toppled over directly onto the gorgeous, Greek-themed university that was the pride of everyone in Metropolis.

By the time Gweneviere, Morgana, and Lancelot looked back, Merlin had disappeared and so had Arthur.

Morgana sighed. "Ultraman's going to kill me," she moaned.

...

**This is your review reminder. Review.**


	3. Chapter 3

** Hi.**

...

Unconscious, Arthur the Hero looked completely harmless. It really was a shame Merlin had been forced to tie him down onto a metal slab overhanging a large pit of acid, because, truthfully, it ruined the mood.

Merlin was proud of his lair. Most of the things were stolen, of course, from villains who were currently residing in jail or in the insane asylum, and so the entire room had large, flashing lights, tesla coils, specialized deathtraps, and the building he was in, a decrypt warehouse in the downtown area of Metropolis, was as far away from civilization as a person could get in a city.

Arthur did not appear to have the minor superpower some heroes have of being able to resist large amounts of tranquilizer spray, so Merlin played games on his computer while he waited for his prize to wake up.

His mother had sent him a text, but Merlin didn't read it.

_You are completely evil_, Merlin thought, not enjoying the thought as much as he wished he would, _destroyed two buildings and kidnapped a hero-in-training? Nefarious._ If Arthur would just wake up then Merlin could gloat about it. Eventually, because he was so bored, Merlin left, got McDonald's, and came back.

As Arthur wasn't awake yet, he lay back in his evil-looking chair, put his combat boots up on his desk, and drank Coke carelessly with his mask off. After a little while, Arthur started to stir, and so Merlin put his mask back on and put the McDonald's in the rubbish bin under his desk. _So that is what supervillains do when their nemesis isn't looking?_ Merlin thought to himself, and then couldn't help grinning as he imagined Blacknight eating Burger King while the Girl Wonder tried to get out of one of his deathtraps.

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" Merlin called out. Unfortunately, it was that moment when Merlin realized his chair could spin. And so, of course, he had to try it.

When he stopped, Arthur was fully awake and staring at him with a disbelieving expression.

"Hey!" Merlin called out happily.

"_You _defeated Ultraman," Arthur noted, unable to believe it.

"I _know_, crazy, right?" Merlin laughed. Then he stopped. His laugh sounded too nice for an evil villain's laugh, he really needed to change that.

"What is this world coming to?" Arthur asked rhetorically.

"With heroes like you coming out of the University, I have no idea," Merlin answered.

Arthur glared at him. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I'll think of something, in the meantime, don't struggle, because that acid will burn you into nothingness in seconds and you're too good-looking to lose so simply," Merlin informed him.

"You're gay," Arthur said, his voice laced with disgust.

"Your sunny disposition warms my soul," Merlin answered. "Now," he continued, "I understand you have superstrength, but even if you could break your bonds you would fall into the acid, and if you could somehow manage to grab the chain holding you up I have six lasers currently ready to shoot you and an electric current running down the chain which would very likely roast you alive if the acid doesn't."

"Isn't this a bit over-done? Hanging the hero over a vat of acid?" Arthur asked.

"I hope so," Merlin grinned, "I _was_ going for the classic. I assume now is the time you tell me that your teammates will come find you."

Arthur, who had been about to open his mouth to say exactly that, fumed.

"Okay, so, I have Arthur the Hero-In-Training currently helpless in my lair, I've already eaten lunch-"

"Do I smell Wendy's?" Arthur asked, disbelieving.

"Close, no cigar," Merlin informed him. Continuing, "I've never tried torture before," he sent Arthur an interested look.

Arthur, to his credit, stayed defiant, holding his chin up high.

"Or..." Merlin realized, "I could hold you for ransom. I can always use more money."

"You've stolen over thirty million dollars in four days," Arthur reminded him, "how much more money do you need?"

"All of it," Merlin informed him.

Arthur blinked. "All of it?" He repeated.

Merlin nodded. "All of it, every last pence."

"Aha," Arthur realized, grinning, "your goal is to ruin the world's economy."

"No, I just want to be rich," Merlin told him.

Arthur's grin faded. "That's it?"

"No," Merlin conceded, "I want to be extremely rich. Richer than Ultraman."

"Why do you think Ultraman's rich?" Arthur said, slight worry crossing his face.

"I saw under his mask, in case you don't know, Arthur, Ultraman is Uther Pendragon, the richest man in the country and third richest man in the world." Merlin stepped out from behind his desk and walked up a railing, so he and Arthur were about level height. "Money is extremely important," Merlin informed him.

"You said, when you first encountered Ultraman, that you wanted to be a hero when you were young," Arthur said, suddenly becoming sympathetic, "why would you give up on that dream? Nothing has to have changed, with your powers you could be top of your class at Hero University."

Merlin laughed. "You're _terrible_ at that!" He announced gleefully, "I don't believe you for an instant!"

"I'm trying to help you!" Arthur insisted.

"You're trying to put my in jail," Merlin reminded him. "Also, f.y.i., Hero University has just been crushed by the Martin Accountancy Building."

Arthur glared at him. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I don't know," Merlin confessed, "kidnapping you was a spur of the moment thing, all I'd wanted to do was to prove that I was more than a bank robber, to give some justice to the whole 'greatest supervillain ever' title that the news is calling me."

"Then let me go," Arthur ordered.

"Absolutely not," Merlin said, "you're dangerous! You're going to grow up to be a handsome superhero someday, how could I let someone that appealing loose on the poor, unsuspecting straight females, bisexuals, and gays of Metropolis? No, I think I'll keep you all to myself." Merlin sat down on the railing and swung his feet precariously over the edge.

Arthur seemed worried. "You're not going to force yourself on me, are you?" He asked nervously.

"Ugh, absolutely not," Merlin wrinkled his nose in disgust. "This is banter, you idiot."

"_You_ are the idiot," Arthur growled, "you're a terrible villain."

"So was Catwoman," Merlin informed him, "but she defeated Batman time and time again."

"That's different," Arthur said.

"Why's that?"

"The feeling was mutual there," Arthur snapped.

"Aw," Merlin sighed, "don't worry, I like you too."

"I'm not gay," Arthur informed him.

"To my eternal chagrin," Merlin announced, grinning.

"An eternity in jail."

"As long as you visit."

"I don't make deals with villains."

"Unless they include your escape from his evil lair."

"You wouldn't know evil if it spit on your face, you're a terrible villain."

"Terrible villain who beat the king of the superheroes."

"My father isn't the king anymore."

Merlin blinked.

Arthur hesitated a moment, and then his eyes widened when he realized what he had said.

"You're _Ultraman's son_?" Merlin howled. "I AM INCREDIBLE!"

"That... this doesn't count!"

"First I beat Ultraman and then I kidnap his son! I am the King of the Supervillains! I am the Lord of Villainy!" Merlin jumped in the air, laughing.

"Don't get carried away!" Arthur snapped.

Merlin grinned. "Arthur _Pendragon_, son of Ultraman, a piece of cake! I am greater at this than I thought!"

"You thought correctly!"

"I could get _billions_ for ransoming you! Billions and billions!" Merlin sliding to sit on the railing again where he could beam at Arthur, although Arthur couldn't see the expression he had under his porcelain mask. "There is now no denying that I am the greatest villain who has ever lived."

"What are you going to do with me?" Arthur demanded.

Merlin shrugged. "I'll figure it out tomorrow." Hopping down from the railing, he jumped to the floor below, his magic softening his fall to a simple glide. "This whole building is a deathtrap, just so you know, and it's automatic, so if you want to escape during the night I wouldn't recommend it, because while I would never let you die the building itself could care less."

"You're just leaving me here?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"I have dinner plans," Merlin informed him. Hesitating by the entrance, he called back, "Would you like me to leave the lights on or turn them off?"

Arthur, pointedly, didn't reply, so Merlin shut them off.

"Sweet dreams!" Merlin shouted pleasantly.

"Go to hell!" Was the furious reply.

...

"What did you do today, Merlin?" Hunith asked coldly, fingering her spoon. She had yet to eat her dinner.

"More acts of villainy," Merlin tried to smile.

"The sabotage at Hero University, they were saying on the news that it was you," Hunith said.

Merlin could not reply.

...

Merlin flicked on the power, and Arthur woke up when he heard the world around him starting to turn on again. "Good moooooooorrniiiing," Merlin sang.

Arthur glared at him.

Merlin was holding a strange bag in his hand, and for a moment Arthur looked alarmed until Merlin reached inside and pulled out a carton bearing the overlarge legend 'Cinnabon'. And Merlin pulled out another, placing it on his desk. But the first he waved gently in Arthur's direction. "I brought breakfast," Merlin sang, "and the very best breakfast there is."

"You are far too cheery for the morning," Arthur growled, "_Magic Man_."

"It's eleven," Merlin informed him. "And I'm sure you're just cranky from sleeping tied to a metal slab overhanging a vat of acid all night." Arthur didn't reply. "Do you want breakfast? It's a large, hot, steaming blend of cinnamon, sugar, and bread," Merlin tempted.

"I'm not eating your food, if you have no purpose for me then let me go," Arthur ordered.

"Nonsense, you didn't have dinner last night and I don't know whether or not you had lunch," Merlin said, "I'm not heartless." His magic, kindly, complied to his wishes and Merlin's feet left the ground, flying him over to where Arthur was, until they were face to face, less than a foot away from each other.

"You can fly?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"I'll tell you a secret," Merlin whispered, "I can't fly."

Arthur looked pointedly at Merlin, who was currently floating in the air in front of him.

"I have this power which works like telekinesis most of the time," Merlin said, "I don't fly, I just use my telekinesis on myself to lift myself through the air." Then Merlin held the Cinnabon box under Arthur's nose. "Hungry?"

"No," Arthur lied. And his stomach betrayed him by growling. Merlin opened the box then, and the smell of the cinnabon bun became so overpowering that Arthur just caved. Besides, at the university they were taught to resist pain as torture, never food.

Merlin cut a slice of the cinnamon bun with the plastic fork and held it up to Arthur's mouth. Arthur opened his mouth, obliging. "Vroom," Merlin couldn't help saying, flying the food around like an airplane.

"I _will_ murder you if you insist on feeding me like a toddler," Arthur snapped.

"Ah, so I'm corrupting you," Merlin grinned, "first I defeat Ultraman and now I'm slowly turning his son to the Dark Side."

"I'm not joining the _Dark Side_," Arthur spat.

"We have cinnamon buns," Merlin joked, and he shoved the breakfast into Arthur's mouth when he tried to reply.

Merlin learned that he had excellent control if he just forced himself to concentrate on how badly his nose itched at the moment and how acid smelled like rotting eggs, and not on the way Arthur's tongue wiped his lips for that extra little trickle of sugar and the concentrated blush coloring Arthur's cheeks. Too soon, or not, he wasn't sure, there was nothing left.

If there was a disappointed look on Arthur Pendragon's face too, then Merlin knew he was imagining it.

"I already had breakfast," Merlin found himself saying, "are you still hungry, do you want the other one?"

"Yes," Arthur said immediately.

...

By noontime, Merlin was remembering that he really needed to go get his mother ready for the charity ball that they were attending for the new opera house on Corners Road, but for the first time since his whole reign as the Magic Man he found that he was actually enjoying his villain identity. The constant, never ceasing, banter with the very handsome Arthur Pendragon the Superhero was also a factor.

"The worst villain ever," Arthur chided, "what villain feeds the hero breakfast?"

"The greatest supervillain of all time," Merlin replied, "they were calling me that on the radio this morning, and they don't even know that I kidnapped Ultraman's son."

"It's because they haven't met you, or perhaps they've confused you with someone else," Arthur noted. "We were talking about you in class on Friday."

"Oh, were you?" Merlin, sitting back on his desk, his combat boots in the air, grinned, "Something scandalous, I hope."

"It's Villain Psychology, of course we were talking about you, did you know there's a theory about who you are?" Arthur asked, smirking.

"Oh, is there?" Merlin pressed, knowing that there was no possible way anyone would ever guess 'the absolute nobody'.

"There were several people in my class quite adamant about this, and you even met one, Lance, the other hero on my team," Arthur teased, not saying the answer.

"This is the team that's supposed to rescue you, isn't it?" Merlin laughed. Again, his laugh sounded far too nice for an evil villain's laugh.

"They _are_ coming," Arthur insisted. "Anyway," he continued with what he was saying, "there are many people who think you're Backlash."

Merlin fell out of his chair. Standing up, his wig slightly askew, he repeated with disbelief, "_Backlash_?"

"They think you survived being thrown into the sun by Jaygirl and Falconman, because that's who Backlash was, if you remember, a bank robber who got powers by accident," Arthur said. "Of course," he smirked, "I'll have to inform them all that you're not a tenth the villain Backlash was, or even a tenth of a tenth, or a tenth of a tenth of a tenth."

"Stop insulting me or I'll bring you jalapenos for lunch," Merlin threatened. "Besides, I would have to be like, sixty years old, wouldn't I?"

"Perhaps you are Backlash, you've just grown senial with age," Arthur guessed, "Backlash was the greatest villain who ever lived, so you've _really_ gone down the tubes, haven't you?"

"I'm not even _close_ to sixty, I don't have _half _the muscular figure that Backlash did, and everyone knows that Backlash hired call _girls_ and had this creepy obsession with the First Lady," Merlin pointed out. "Whereas, I am young, slender, and absolutely homosexual," Merlin winked at Arthur.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm not gay," he said.

"So you say, but you _do_ wear hairgel," Merlin said, crossing his arms.

"A hero is supposed to look presentable, can I help it if my father's barber insists that I do my hair every morning?" Arthur tried to shrug, but it was rather hard to do considering how he was tied.

"Ultraman has a barber? Probably a whole slew of barbers, and seamstresses for when he bends over in that spandex, as well as a team of liposuction people, for when that spandex gets too tight, huh?" Merlin teased.

"The body comes with superstrength, obviously," Arthur reminded Merlin, "you, supervillain Magic Man, should know that."

"Yes," Merlin grinned, "so, now we're talking about superstrength, that's your power, isn't it? I could just tell."

Suddenly Arthur seemed awkward. "Um... yes, that's my uh... mine," he fumbled.

"What else can you do?" Merlin pressed. Arthur didn't reply, so Merlin elaborated, "Professional curiosity, of course, we are nemesis' now, aren't we?" Arthur raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Granted," Merlin added, "you were very, very easy to defeat, but what other relationship can a superhero and supervillain have? So..." Merlin pressed a button on his desk and Arthur suddenly dropped an entire yard closer to the acid, "What are your other powers?"

Arthur's eyes widened immediately, but he didn't budge.

Until Merlin dropped him until his shoe was touching the acid, and he could see the line of steam as the shoe disintegrated, "Don'thaveany," Arthur said so quickly it sounded like one word.

The chain jerked up until Arthur was almost back to his original height.

Merlin stared at him curiously. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, no I'm not," Arthur said. A horrific blush came over his cheeks then, darkening his features with a sick red of embarrassment.

"But Ultraman has seventeen powers, all of the known powers except four, you have to have inherited at least... at least eight, right?" Merlin asked in disbelief.

"Haha," Arthur said humorlessly, "I know, I've heard it all before, the son of Ultraman's not living up to his full potential."

"Who was your mother?" Merlin asked.

"That's confidential information," Arthur said harshly.

Merlin typed something onto his computer. With no effort, he Googled 'Uther Pendragon'. "Uther Pendragon was married for five years to the late Lady Pendragon, I don't see her name... but she was your mother, right?"

Arthur didn't reply.

"Of course, Uther could have slept with someone gross, like... Meteorwoman or his mother, so which one do you want me to attribute to you? A pimply-fake-superhero or inces-"

"Alright, she was my mother!" Arthur growled.

"_Good _hero-in-training," Merlin patronized. Then Merlin tapped an odd rhythm on his desk and Arthur tried to pretend he had something better to do than hang helpless where he was and talk to the supervillain. "Remember yesterday, when I told you not to escape until I came back?" Merlin asked.

"Yes," Arthur said suspiciously.

"Forget that."

Arthur's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You want me to escape?" He asked.

"Yeah," Merlin nodded to himself, "frankly, I can't keep feeding you, you're not my pet, and my only pet I had was this goldfish that I forgot to feed and it starved to death, so I don't think you want to be my pet anyways. So, why don't you escape, and I'll watch?"

"Am I your entertainment?" Arthur asked, and he seethed when Merlin nodded.

"It's this," Merlin said, "or I could watch the acid disintegrate your feet."

"You wouldn't."

"Supervillain," Merlin announced, pointing to himself.

And so Arthur turned his gaze on his chains.

...

Arthur spent fifteen minutes holding onto the metal slab and thinking about his next moves, which was very annoying because Merlin knew the superstrength Arthur had would let him hang there for eternity and never bother him.

...

Eventually, Arthur managed to get the entire chain to swing and he jumped, scrabbling to get a handhold on the railing which Merlin had been hanging off of earlier while the lasers shot fire-red missiles at him.

...

When Arthur, a crocodile, a dropping floor, and a chamber of death later, managed to stand on the same platform when Merlin was, he did something very intelligent which Ultraman would never have done.

He went straight for Merlin.

Merlin telekinetically flew out of reach. "Come on," Merlin said, "aren't you going to try and escape? I planned a very difficult course all for you."

Arthur stood under Merlin. And he jumped.

Apparently superstrength extended to legs, because Arthur grabbed Merlin's ankle and dragged him down to the floor easily. With one swift move, he turned Merlin around and placed his arms precariously around Merlin's neck. "I'm not an idiot," Arthur whispered, "the entire chamber is coded with your DNA, if I left without you I'd have to make my way through some impossible, elaborate deathtrap, but if I leave you we can just walk out without a scratch."

"Smart, handsome, and good with banter? The girls must love you," Merlin mumbled, trying to reach for his magic to get himself out of Arthur's grip. Unfortunately, the cold realization that with a flick of his wrist Arthur could easily snap his neck was ruining Merlin's mood. Fear, the crushing feeling, blocked Merlin's magic. Now it was his turn to be helpless, and Merlin did not like it at all.

"Okay," Arthur said, his eyes searching the room, "where's the entrance?"

Merlin pointed to it, and Arthur forced him there. "Don't try any tricks," Arthur warned, noticing a keypad.

"'Course not," Merlin mumbled. He reached his fingers to the keypad.

There was more than one code. There was a code to open the door, a code to release a certain deadly robot which Merlin had bought at a very high price which would almost certainly tear the single-powered-Arthur to shreds, and there was another code to fill the entire room with a knockout gas which Merlin had injected himself to be immune to.

Easily, Merlin could turn the tide back in his favor.

But that ruined the fun of this, so Merlin typed the code to simply open the door.

...

Now that Arthur was on the outside, it was his turn to figure out what to do with his captive. Merlin chuckled at his sudden indecisiveness, and Arthur shook him with enough force to rattle his bones. "I can't drag you all the way to the maximum security prison," Arthur told Merlin, "but if you'll cooperate with me, I can get you off with a lighter sentence."

"If you let go of me first," Merlin agreed, "you're practically chocking me."

"Sorry," Arthur apologized, and he let Merlin go.

"Thank you," Merlin said, straightening his cape and mask. He took a step to his left, as if to get away from Arthur. "If you follow Copper Street, you'll eventually reach First Street on your left," Merlin informed him.

"That's not," Arthur began.

And then suddenly the ground opened up beneath Merlin and he disappeared. The ground closed immediately after him, but Merlin had enough time to catch Arthur's shocked expression and knew he was going to keep that in mind forever.

...

**This is your review reminder. Review, pweez?**


	4. Chapter 4

** Oh, yes, more, sorry, I forgot. Finals.**

…

Arthur, disheveled and slightly exhausted from walking over thirty blocks, opened the door to the apartment he shared with Lance with a disgruntled sigh.

Lance looked up from the coach.

Gwen, her blouse as disheveled as Arthur was, also looked up from the coach, but at least she had the decency to seem mortified.

Arthur glared at the two of them. "You know, _Lance,_" he said, every word thick with malice, "next time you decide to share the apartment with your fiance, perhaps you should rescue your leader from the supervillain first, or at least make sure he's alive."

"Er..." Gwen stood up, "Arthur, this isn't what it looks like."

"I'm exhausted, I've spent the last several hours either hanging over a vat of acid, climbing through a deathtrap, or walking here, so I don't care if Morgana was out looking for me by herself. I'm going to bed," Arthur slammed the door of the apartment shut with a load crash.

"We were told not to look for you," Lance said, "Ultraman had the entire Justice Union on a search, we were told not to get in the way." Lance stood up, "How did you escape?"

"I got out by myself," Arthur lied.

"Does your fa... Ultraman know you got out? You should call him."

Arthur glared at Lance. "Go shag your fiance," he snapped.

"We are _not_!" Gwen glared at Arthur. "I _will_ grow a venus flytrap in your brain!"

"I'm so frightened, plants," Arthur deadpanned. Lance opened his mouth to retort but Arthur stopped him, "I have talked nonstop for almost eight hours with a supervillain, I'm tired of talking. I'll send my father a text."

...

People just _don't_ send Ultraman texts.

_Arthur_ especially, should have known better than to send 'Stop the search party I made it out alive'.

"You could have used the door," Arthur mumbled into his pillow. It was going to take _days_ to replace the window in his apartment.

But Uther stepped through, and, with a wave of his hand and a telekinetic wave of his hand, the window was back in place. "Why _exactly_ didn't you _find_ me?" Uther demanded.

Arthur, who was currently collapsed on his bed, his face buried in his pillow, simply shrugged.

"This is not a _game_, Arthur," Uther reminded him.

"You call it a game all the time," Arthur mumbled. The frequency should have been too quiet for Uther to hear, but Uther was not a normal man.

"Perhaps we've all forgotten that these battles are not to be taken lightly!" Uther seethed, "This _Magic Man_ defeated even me, fluke or not, and I hear that you and your team, who has yet to even complete their schooling, went after a lead on him? And _not_ only did you follow the lead, but _he was there_ and then, due to a startlingly amount of inaction, you were kidnapped!"

"It's really weird to talk to you when you're in costume," Arthur mumbled into his pillow.

"Sit up!" Uther demanded. And then, leaving Arthur no chance to do so, he flung the covers from Arthur's bed and grabbed his son by the ear, pulling him to a sitting position with the force that would have torn off the head of a normal human.

Thankfully Arthur wasn't human, even if it was in only one respect.

"I was _defending_ you in front of the Justice Union and then you pull a stunt like this!" Uther shouted.

"A stunt? We were the only team at the University and every member of the Justice Union was downtown for that 'Incredibly Important' meeting of yours! The entire city was undefended and look what happened? A skyscraper destroyed as well as the university!" Fully awake, Arthur was prepared to scream back at his father as much as he needed to.

"Yes, it's a miracle no one was killed," Uther noted, "however-"

"It's not a miracle, it was the Magic Man, he planned it like that," Arthur interrupted.

Uther glared. Ignoring the change of subject, he continued, "Every mob member and thief has been working overtime ever since my defeat, all heroes have had more than their fair share of work, and I pulled _every single one_ off of duty to search for you! Do you realize the chaos that left the city in?"

"We _do_ have a police," Arthur reminded him.

"They're inadequate, _ungifted_, normal humans, Arthur!" Uther sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hand, taking off his half-mask to do so. "Arthur, are you injured?"

Arthur glared. "You ask _now_?" He asked incredulously.

"Be glad I asked!" Uther snapped, "Are you injured?"

"No," Arthur told him, "just bumps and bruises, nothing serious."

"Have you eaten?" Uther's voice almost, _almost_ sounded caring.

"Yes," Arthur said, thinking back to his breakfast. And suddenly, a horrific blush crossed his face. _I was fed breakfast by a supervillain, I was flirting with a supervillain!_ Arthur thought in panic.

Not for the first time in his life, he was glad that one of the four powers his father didn't have was reading minds.

"Well," Uther swallowed. "Due to this stunt, I'm not sure what to do about my decision."

"What decision?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Nevermind," Uther said, waving Arthur off with a wave of his hand, "you'll find out tomorrow at school." Uther frowned, "There are many students working right now, using their powers to help repair the school, it should be at least functional by the first classes tomorrow."

"I was just kidnapped, what do you want me to do? Rebuild the school in two hours and then go back to sleep?" Arthur growled.

"Sleep then," Uther said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"As Ultraman or as my father?" Arthur asked.

"I am always your father," Uther said, and before Arthur could say anything to the contrary he was out the window yet again.

Arthur lay back down on his bed, buried his face in his pillow, and groaned.

...

Arthur was walking to the university when someone dumped a bag over his head and pulled him into a moving vehicle. He shouted, and delivered a kick to his captor, which had a pleasant crunching noise like a broken bone; then he heard a voice that halted him in his tracks.

"Calm down!" The Magic Man said, a leather glove touched Arthur's shoulder, "It's just me."

"_Just_ you?" Arthur ripped the bag off his head. He blinked. "Is this a limo?"

"Champagne?" The Magic Man asked, nodding his strange, porcelain face at Arthur, holding out a glass.

Confused, Arthur looked at the front, but the glass was tinted. There was no one else at their end of the limo, just him, the supervillain, and a fridge which Arthur had just kicked in half. The Magic Man was still holding the champagne in front of Arthur. "It's nine in the morning," Arthur declined the drink.

"Would you prefer a cinnamon bun?" The Magic Man's voice seemed to hint that he was smirking under his mask.

"No!" Arthur said immediately, and he could feel a blush creeping up on his face. "What do you want now?" Arthur demanded.

"I have a spy," the Magic Man informed him, "in the Justice Union."

Arthur's jaw dropped. "_What_?"

"It costs a lot of money, but I do have access to some information now. It wasn't my idea, actually, but it works," the Magic Man sat back in his seat.

"So?" Arthur pressed.

"I can make you the next king of superheroes," the Magic Man offered.

Arthur frowned. "How?"

"Are you aware of the current actions of the Justice Union?" The Magic Man asked. Arthur shook his head. "As incredible as it is," the Magic Man seemed to revel in this information, "the Justice Union is retiring."

"My father would never retire," Arthur said quickly.

"He's the one who's insisting they do, in his words 'we're all too old for this'." The Magic Man folded his hands together, the picture of a nefarious villain. "Until I kidnapped you, the majority of the members of the Justice Union were fine with your father's decision to let you succeed him as the leader of the Justice Union."

"My father was going to have me succeed him?" Arthur asked, disbelieving.

"_Was_ is the operative word there," the Magic Man replied, "turns out, no one wants a leader who can be defeated so easily by a supervillain like me, so the vote has now shifted away from your favour, and you are not going to be allowed the role of a hero after all. Unless something miraculous happens, you are going to be informed to seek a job in a circus or the army, as you're very qualified for both."

Arthur swallowed.

"But I'm willing to make that something miraculous happen," the Magic Man told him.

"How?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Magic," was the answer.

...

Arthur was rushed before Uther, the Jaygirl holding his arm. The entire extended Justice Union of over fifty members was bent over a three-dimensional map of the city, but Jaygirl, one of the lead seats, slammed open the doors without even knocking.

"I want to change my vote!" Jaygirl cried out in excitement.

Uther turned around, and even with the half-mask covering the upper part of his face the surprise was clearly visible.

"He's a flier!" Jaygirl said in excitement.

...

_I got the job by lying. I became an image of good and morality by _lying_. I am a hypocrite._ Arthur paced in his room, deep in thought, not caring that he was bothering Lance.

"We've already got the seats, Arthur, but we have another year of school," Lance reminded him, "calm down, eat churros, play a video game." Lance had this annoying perpetual smile ever since he learned he was the Speed's chosen replacement.

"Lance!" Arthur stopped pacing for a moment and glared at him, his hands curled into fists.

"Fine, go back to being weird," Lance stood up. "I'm going out with Gwen and Morgana, care to join us?"

"No," Arthur said.

"No?" Lance repeated in surprise.

"No." Arthur returned to pacing. Every step seemed to echo _hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite._

_ What do I do when they realize I can't fly?_ Arthur thought nervously.

...

Merlin escaped from the penthouse by putting on normal clothes and pretending that he was going to his lair.

Anything to get away from his mother's angry gaze.

...

Arthur escaped from his tormented feelings, changing into normal, non-university-issued, clothing, and decided to take a walk.

...

There was a celebration in the park, an anniversary of some sort, but no one who was there to celebrate actually cared. There was the kind of annoying loud music that echoes your heart beat, food obviously spiked with alcohol, and enough police officers in attendance that the party wasn't going to be called off.

Merlin had never, in his life, crashed a party, but he was a supervillain now, so why not? Although he was severely under dressed for a party, Merlin just walked into the clearing. No one challenged him, not even when, after a few minutes of trying to dance, he made his way over the the heavily alcoholic brownies and punch.

Of course, because Merlin was, in reality, a complete idiot, he accidentally tripped over someone's feet and ended up knocking another person to the ground on the way there. At least the other person had the grace to laugh, but when Merlin and Arthur locked gazes Merlin wished Arthur had just shoved him away.

Of all of the hundreds of people at this stupid party, of the _millions_ of people in Metropolis, Merlin ends up falling on _Arthur Pendragon_.

"You okay, didn't hurt yourself?" Arthur asked when Merlin hesitated before getting off him.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really clumsy, I didn't mean, to, uh," Merlin stumbled over the words.

"I hope you didn't mean to, otherwise it was a poor attempt of hitting on me," Arthur grinned.

Merlin was too shocked to reply. Without his mask covering his features, Merlin couldn't help but feel exposed as Arthur's bright eyes looked straight at him.

"I was just thinking about getting drunk myself, care to join me?" Arthur asked.

"No, not... I mean yes, yes!" Merlin stuttered, "We... well, uh, what I meant... was..."

"You're not drunk already, are you?"

"No, just uhm." And then Merlin laughed nervously, "Didn't expect to fall into someone as handsome as you."

"Ah," Arthur said, knowledge coming to his features.

Merlin expected him to walk away any moment, after all, Arthur had made it very clear that he was _not_ gay.

"Do I know you?" Arthur asked instead, "You seem familiar."

"I wish," Merlin smiled.

Arthur blinked for a moment, and then, after what seemed like a momentary battle with his conscience, asked loudly, "How about that drink?"

Merlin let Arthur take the lead, and before Arthur's confident steps the crowd just seemed to part, so Merlin made himself as little as possible behind him and got to the brownies and punch without tripping over any more people. _Is this like a date?_ Merlin wondered, staring at the back of Arthur's head in confusion. _It can't be, can it?_

Arthur poured them both drinks, handing the one to Merlin, and he didn't seem to think it was odd. "Drink up, I say five or so of these will make us sufficiently drunk to both of our satisfaction."

Arthur drowned the first drink so quickly that Merlin had to comment. "Are you trying to get drunk for any reason?"

"Getting rid of guilt," Arthur said, "are you?"

"The same," Merlin realized with a sigh. And then, mimicking Arthur, he downed his drink in one go. "Fill her up," Merlin held out his glass.

They had a few more than five glasses. Eventually, they simply couldn't hold the glass straight, their hands kept shaking. And a few blurred memories of dancing dogged Merlin's steps, he just remembered that it was very fun and he was calling Arthur 'Arthur' although Arthur had never told him his name and Arthur was calling Merlin 'Blue-eyes'.

What hit Merlin like a ton of bricks was when his cup spilled on the ground and, laughing, he backed up against a tree. Then Arthur, hesitating a long moment, softly pressed his lips against him. There wasn't any tongue, it wasn't even rough, Arthur simply placed his lips on Merlin's. It was sweet, Merlin realized, but even more so, it felt... kind.

"_Mer_lin," Arthur whispered, pressing their foreheads together.

"You kno' miy nahme?" Merlin asked, his words slurred together.

"I' jus' cahme to me," Arthur mumbled. He pressed his lips against Merlin's cheekbone. "Tha's funny, isn' it? _Mer_lin an' _Ar_thur."

"Wha's funny?" Merlin asked. And he laughed, although he didn't know why. Arthur kissed him again, his lips light on Merlin's, and Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck.

"_Mer_lin an' _Ar_thur," Arthur repeated, "lihke Camelot."

"Neverh heard of ith," and Merlin jammed their lips together with as much passion as he could muster, but that was not a lot because he was _really_, _really_ drunk.

Thankfully, Arthur was much stronger.

...

Merlin woke up in someone else's bed. And that was the very best way to wake up, in his opinion. He sat up, wiping sleep away from his eyes.

The room was rather small, not what Merlin had expected, but the effect of the size could have something to do with the fact that it was a complete mess. Not only were clothes thrown about, popcorn kernels on the floor, and a pizza box on the ground, a large television that apparently had previously been hanging on the wall had been torn from its place, and Arthur's dresser had fallen to the floor.

Merlin had a faint recollection that Arthur had been snogging him and had shoved him against the television, and Merlin's magic had knocked down the dresser, so he probably shouldn't attribute that mess to Arthur's bachelorhood.

Somewhere in the piles of clothes, Merlin realized, was his shirt. Unfortunately, Merlin was still wearing his pants. That was very disappointing. _This is, perhaps, the worst one-night stand I have ever had_, Merlin realized. And although he'd only had three, he was pretty sure the purpose of a one-night stand was to have sex. Not just snog like high schoolers and get off after just a little friction and a shirtless Arthur.

Merlin was rather looking forward to getting shagged by Arthur. Which had the double epiphany; first that he was, for the first time in a long while, actually attracted to someone, and second that he was _so_ gay.

When Merlin had disentangled himself from the sheets, which was very hard to do and eventually his magic had to help him out, he found himself on his hands and knees searching for his shirt. He couldn't actually remember what shirt he'd worn, but eventually he found one he was certain Arthur didn't own because it was too short and bore the legend 'The angels have the phone box'.

He'd just managed to be dressed when the door opened and he rather wished he wasn't.

"You're awake," Arthur said, surprise in his voice.

Merlin's throat was dry. It was really unfair that Arthur should look so good shirtless. It was inhuman for a person to look so good shirtless. "Yeah," Merlin said.

Then, of course, things got awkward. Arthur began to tap a rhythm on the doorframe and Merlin fiddled around with his collar. They did that for about five minutes until Merlin finally managed to say, "Should I go then?"

"Go?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Yeah, as in leave, go home," Merlin answered. Arthur didn't reply, so Merlin pressed, "We're all done here, aren't we?"

Arthur blinked rapidly.

_Oh, right_, Merlin remembered, _he's probably got a hangover._ Then Merlin remembered to act slightly in pain, as if he had a hangover too.

"We uh... we don't have to, if you don't want," Arthur was saying.

Merlin missed it. "What?"

"We don't have to be done, unless you want to be done," Arthur repeated. Shuffling his feet like an innocent, blushing schoolboy, Arthur added, "_I_ don't want to be done."

Merlin grinned. "I don't want to either," he confessed.

Arthur grinned back. With one long, superhuman step, he crossed the room over to Merlin. "So, what exactly do you want?" He asked.

Merlin pretended to be deep in thought. "Well," he hesitated, "we could... snog a bit and then eat breakfast?"

"Lunch," Arthur corrected.

Merlin blinked, "Is it that late?"

"Almost twelve," Arthur nodded.

Merlin punched him lightly on the arm. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked nice, sleeping," Arthur said, blushing a bit, "besides, it's Monday, who wants to wake up early on Monday?"

"It's Tuesday," Merlin corrected, "yesterday was Monday."

"Thank God," Arthur mumbled, leaning his face closer to Merlin's, "I hate Mondays."

...

**This is your review reminder. Review, pweez?**


	5. Chapter 5

** And the plot moves...**

…

They got fast food. Merlin had forgotten his wallet, and Arthur insisted on paying, and Merlin refused to allow Arthur to take him to a fancy restaurant because he was under dressed and not interested in taking Arthur's money. Money was Merlin's obsession, of course, but he preferred not to take it from his nemesis.

Merlin really had to stop referring to Arthur as 'his nemesis' in his mind. It was causing the word 'nemesis' to be very confusing.

"Here we are," Arthur said, holding their bag of takeout, "six pounds of grease, as ordered."

"I lived on fast food as a kid, no insulting it," Merlin poked Arthur in the ribs.

There was a bench outside, and because the restaurant was filled with screaming children and old people, old people tended to be homophobes and Merlin had learned that lesson painfully, they sat on a bench outside. Arthur distributed their food, making a point of giving each item a disgusted face.

"You're one of those people who makes smoothies with vegetables, aren't you?" Merlin asked.

"If I think I need to," Arthur replied. At Merlin's incredulous glance he elaborated, "I don't do it all the time, just, you know, sometimes." Arthur stared at his food, "We should have gone to McDonald's, I could have used the coffee."

"Hangover?" Merlin asked.

"I don't think I've ever drunk that much," Arthur said with a groan. But, for one who complained so much about fast food, he didn't exactly care when he took a large bite of chips.

"The worst for me," Merlin remembered, "was when I was..." then he stopped. "So," Merlin said quickly, changing the subject, "I remember seeing a few sweatshirts and shirts in your room, and as far as I know, there's only one college in all Metropolis with the letter's H U."

"Oh," Arthur said with a smile, "Yes, that's... well. I'm a Junior there."

Merlin almost asked 'how old are you' but realized he didn't exactly want to tell Arthur that he was only eighteen. "So?" Merlin nudged him, "What can you do?"

"Superstrength," Arthur told him.

"That'll be useful later than, won't it?" Merlin hinted. But judging by Arthur's confused glance, he didn't get the innuendo. "What else?" Merlin asked knowingly.

"Um," Arthur seemed awkward, "I can... can fly, but I just... learned that power and I'm not very good yet."

"Can you pick up a car?" Merlin asked.

"Yes," Arthur said, as if he were tired of people asking him that question.

Merlin smiled. "That's good enough for me, so," he held his drink up and announced, "Cheers." Arthur's fingers did the obnoxious, nervous tapping again. "Something on your mind?" Merlin asked.

"Do I know you?" Arthur stared at him.

Merlin blinked. "Why would you say that?"

"Because I just feel like I know you from somewhere," Arthur told him. "It's not a bad thing," he said in a rushed voice, "but it's just that I keep feeling like I know you and last night I remember knowing your name and it's not like 'Merlin' is the kind of name a person just guesses."

Merlin shrugged. "Maybe you have a new power," he suggested.

"Believe me," Arthur sighed, "if I had a new power I would know it. And be ecstatic about it."

"Two powers isn't bad," Merlin reminded him, "even three isn't overkill. Ultraman himself has like, fifteen abilities-"

"Seventeen," Arthur corrected automatically.

"Seventeen," Merlin adjusted.

Arthur smiled apologetically. "It's so odd, my entire life. Do you know that I share my apartment with my teammate named Lance?"

"What's odd about that?" Merlin asked, confused.

"And he's _dating_ our other teammate, Gwen, and the other girl on our team is Morgana. We always joked that all we needed was a Gallahad, and a Merlin, and a few more knights," Arthur laughed.

Merlin looked at him curiously for a moment and then gave up. "I don't understand, what do those names have to do with anything?"

Arthur stared at him in disbelief. "Arthur, Morgana, Lancelot? King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?"

Merlin took a sip of his soda. "So, you're a king now? Because you may be a good snogger but we didn't even get around to actual sex last night."

Arthur jumped. In a hushed voice, he mumbled, "It's an old story, the names were popular a while ago, not..." Arthur cleared his throat. "And about the uh..." His face started to turn red. "About the... the..."

"The sex," Merlin finished helpfully.

"Yes..." Arthur cleared his throat again. "Well, see, I've... never really had a... a serious relationship before."

"Wow, not even a day into it and we're already serious?" Merlin had to comment.

Arthur blushed harder. "That's not exactly what I meant," he said quickly, his voice hushed. "I've never been... in this kind of a thing, before."

Merlin took a moment to think and eat a few chips. Then it clicked. "You mean, because we're both male?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded, "that's what I meant."

"Well," Merlin scratched his nose and leaned back on the bench, feeling oddly superior, "sex with a man isn't too different from sex with a woma-"

"_Will you stop saying that_!" Arthur hissed.

"Saying what?" Merlin asked innocently.

"That," Arthur growled.

Merlin grinned. "You mean sex?"

"Yes, Merlin you idiot, I meant that," Arthur shook his head. He relaxed enough to take a sip of his drink.

Merlin couldn't resist. "You _do_ want to have sex, right?" He asked.

Arthur choked. After five minutes of coughing, he was well enough to growl, "You're going to be far too much trouble, aren't you?"

"It does take longer, with a man. And by _it_, of course I mean that word I'm forbidden to say," Merlin told him, "because you have to be all prepared, especially whoever's getting shagged-"

Arthur started to cough again.

"-but for the most part it's like being with a girl." Merlin told him. "I wouldn't actually know," Merlin confessed, "I've never turned someone gay before."

Arthur glared at him.

"What?"

"Do we have to have this conversation now? Can't it wait?" Arthur asked, trying to maintain a cool demeanor.

"We could talk about football if you like, but I'm rather boring, I don't pay much attention and I just stick with Manchester," Merlin replied, "but I do think its rather important; if we start snogging again but can't go any farther because you don't know what to do that would leave us both in a bit of an unsatisfied mess."

"Why did I do this?" Arthur asked rhetorically, dropping his head in his hands.

Merlin frowned. "That's not exactly the nicest thing to say," he noted.

"I meant the food, it's disgusting, I should have just forced you into a nice restaurant," Arthur said, looking up.

"Do you want to have this conversation in a nice restaurant?" Merlin pointed out. "Anyway, if we're going to make this work, we sort of have to have a plan."

"A plan? Can't we just see how it goes?" Arthur pleaded.

"Well, I have a very demanding job," _a supervillain's work is never done_ "and you go to college, so living together is probably out," _when should I tell him I'm a supervillain?_, "and we have yet to even exchange numbers, so, King Arthur, how were you planning on finding me when I went home?"

Arthur blinked. "Oh," he realized, and immediately reached into his pocket for his phone.

"Good dog," Merlin grinned.

"Don't call me that," Arthur ordered. "What's your number?"

...

Merlin tossed their food in the trash and then looped his arm in Arthur's, forcing him to walk with him. Arthur didn't seem to mind. "So, we have the whole city of Metropolis, what do you want to do next?" Merlin asked, excited.

Arthur laughed. "I have no idea," he confessed, "frankly, this was not how I expected my week to go."

"And it's only Tuesday, imagine what I have in store for you later?" Merlin grinned. "We can take a walk in the park," he offered, "you can buy me a ticket for a movie, I could go get my money and buy my own ticket, we could go find one of your friends and tell whoever that I'm your boyfriend, we could go back to your apartment and have really hot, se... the word I'm forbidden to say..."

Arthur turned red again.

"I could make you pick up cars and throw them at people for fun," Merlin rattled off. He came up with several more ideas, having fun with how many times he could use 'the word I'm forbidden to say' and make Arthur blush even more.

This was the weirdest thing he had ever done. He and Arthur felt natural somehow, perfectly fit. Ever since... since what happened to Will, Merlin had never had any sort of a relationship. He'd never even thought about it again, and sure, when he first saw Arthur Pendragon he had imagined that, but he did not expect, a mere eight days later, that he'd be walking down Fifth Avenue arm-in-arm with Arthur and asking him if he wanted to go throw water balloons at a clown.

And it felt normal. It felt like he'd known Arthur his entire life and they had just decided to take a stroll.

"You've been quiet, and I don't think you've shut up for a moment since I met you, are you alright?" Arthur asked.

Merlin stared at him. "It's weird isn't it? I've only really known you for... for a day. I don't actually do this with every guy I meet. I've never actually done this."

"Me neither," Arthur said, smiling, "there's something about you, Merlin."

"You too," Merlin smiled back.

They were about to kiss when they heard a scream.

Arthur grabbed Merlin by the shoulders, pushing them both to the side of the road. In an instant, hundreds more screams joined the first. "What is it?" Merlin shouted above the noise, grabbing Arthur's arm.

"I'm going to find out," Arthur told him, pushing him against a building, "stay here."

Arthur turned, running toward the noise.

Merlin snorted, and ran after him. He caught up with Arthur quickly, Arthur had paused in the middle of the road. Merlin struggled to reach him as swarms of panicking populace rushed either away from the scene of terror or toward it with camera's and cell phones recording.

"It's a toad," Arthur said, staring up at the massive, forty-stories high creature bounding down Sixth Avenue.

"He wasn't supposed to get out," Merlin mumbled, too quiet for Arthur to hear.

Arthur fumbled with his pocket, grabbing his phone. "I have to make a call," he pressed single button.

"If you have Ultraman on speed dial that would be very helpful right now," Merlin said. He grabbed Arthur's hand as the monster toad flicked its tongue at a building, pulling apart glass and brick.

This was terrible. The toad wasn't supposed to be released until the mayor's banquet Tuesday afternoon.

Then Merlin remembered that it was Tuesday.

"Oops," Merlin said aloud.

Arthur closed his phone, the call having been made. "Come on, Merlin," he wrapped his hand around Merlin's, holding him securely in his superpowered grip. "We have to get out of here."

Merlin let Arthur lead him away, but they'd only managed to get about a hundred yards away when a gleaming figure in gold and white flew by them, eyes glaring red with fire, and behind him flew a figure in green and blue, hammer and wings extended. "Ultraman and Jaygirl," Merlin said in surprise. His evil doings now required TWO superheroes?

Arthur pulled him along, almost wrenching Merlin's arm out of its socket as he ducked into an alley. "Come on, _Merlin_," Arthur shouted, "we need to get out of here!"

"Others are staying," Merlin tried to pull his hand out of Arthur's grip but couldn't. "Don't you want to watch?"

Arthur suddenly looked frightened, and Merlin realized that the action of running away had nothing to do with the giant evil toad. Instead, Arthur was running away from his father. Or, Arthur and his _boyfriend_ were running away from Arthur's father.

"You're right," Merlin said, "it's probably stupid to stay, let's go."

And Arthur flashed him a huge smile.

...

"The Magic Man has been in the news almost every other day for the past two months," Arthur noted to his companion.

"We're at a bar," Merlin said, indicating to the alcohol in his hand, "who cares about the news? Let's watch football."

"Here here," said the barmaid.

"See, she agrees," Merlin said.

It was another, very nice, Tuesday date. And tomorrow, of course, as Arthur had no classes, Merlin and he would very likely spend the whole day playing chess in the park or going to see a movie and Merlin would try to convince Arthur that they really should go out and by lubricant and then, of course, use it for what it was meant for while Arthur would dodge it and then they'd end up either fighting or in Arthur's bed, getting as close to each other as two people could get without actually having sex. And Thursday Arthur had classes and Merlin had to work where ever it was he worked and so Arthur would spend the entire day wishing he didn't have classes and Merlin didn't have to work, whereas Friday would bring about training and a constant, never ending conversation via texting; Saturday Arthur had to do school and work; and Sunday Arthur would spend a very guilty day with his father where he would get messages from Merlin and ignore them as best as he could and Uther would try to instruct Arthur on how to run the Justice Union while Arthur would be thinking _How do you tell your father that you're dating a man? How do you tell Ultraman that his son is gay? Why does no one have any answers for this? _And then Monday would just be a disaster. Because it was Monday.

"Do you think life is getting too predictable?" Arthur asked, thinking.

"Ah, I was wondering what you were doing, you haven't said anything in awhile," Merlin noted, "not even when your nachos arrived and I ate them all."

"Thank you for that, Merlin," Arthur snapped, pretending to be angry while a smile tugged on his lips.

"No, I don't think it is, why? Do you?" Merlin asked.

"It's been two months since we started dating," Arthur began.

"One month and twenty-eight days," Merlin corrected immediately.

"Yes, so..." Arthur nervously tapped his fingers against their table. "Next year," Arthur said, steeling himself for this, "next year I'm going to be taking over the Justice Union, and I'll be making six figures easy, and I'm already well-off, because, my father's rich, you know."

"Is this leading anywhere?" Merlin was staring at him curiously.

"Graduation is in less than a month," Arthur added. And, at Merlin's questioning stare, he explained, "Because of the Justice Union's retirement."

Merlin waited for Arthur to continue, and when he didn't, he pressed, "_And_?"

"And, and," Arthur stumbled over the words. "And I have a lot of money..."

"_And_?" Merlin repeated impatiently.

"And uh," Arthur blushed.

Merlin's eyes widened with understanding. "We're breaking up?" He choked.

"No!" Arthur dropped his head in his hands. _This should not be so hard_.

Merlin stared at him curiously. "Are we finally going to have sex?" He asked, confused.

"Yes," Arthur forced out, "in a sense."

"In a sense?" Merlin repeated indignantly, "What does that mean?"

"I think we should get married," Arthur announced.

Merlin froze.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile, and I thought." Arthur paused. He cleared his throat again, drummed with his fingers a rhythm on the table, and then continued, "You see, the only way we'll be able to see each other after I take over the Justice Union is if I'm coming home to you every night, because I'll be keeping odd hours. Already we only spend only two days a week with each other, and when I take on the duties of a superhero I'd probably end up missing half those appointments... _dates_ I mean, and... the day we met we were already acting like we knew each other our whole lives, and my best friend became engaged a week after meeting his girlfriend and... they haven't been married yet, but they're very happy so..." Arthur, cowed, looked at Merlin for assurance. "It just seems practical," he finished lamely.

Merlin stared at the table, apparently deep in thought.

"Well?" Arthur pressed, worried. He reached across their table, taking Merlin's hand.

Merlin finally met Arthur's gaze, his eyes twinkling with merriment. "You're asking me to marry you in Joe's Diner and Bar?"

Arthur visibly flinched.

"Do you even have a ring?" Merlin asked.

"I didn't, I thought we should go together, because I mean... if you were a girl I'd get you diamonds or something, but neither of us is a girl or even camp, so I wouldn't know... what kind... of ring to get?" Arthur ended on a question, although he didn't know what he was asking.

"We could have, you know, done something _romantic_ to lead up to this," Merlin said. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"I'm not good with romantic," Arthur confessed. "We could..." he searched for an idea, "go to the shore and I could ask you there?"

"No, no," Merlin shook his head. "You already asked, it's done. I don't want to be one of those girls who makes you ask a hundred different ways until you get it right." Merlin nodded. "So," he said with an odd tone, "Joe's Diner and Bar then?"

Arthur frowned. "In all fairness," he had to add, "you _do_ complain whenever I try to take you to a five-star restaurant."

"I _know_," Merlin said sadly, "but the food here isn't that great and now every anniversary we'll have to come here and eat just for tradition's sake."

Arthur smiled. "Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes, you great fool," Merlin leaned forward, "but _how_ are we going to get married?"

Arthur leaned forward to give Merlin a passionate kiss. He was in an awkward position, all elbows and angles to get over the table, but Merlin met him in the middle. He pressed their lips together, slowly, as long as he thought he could get away in public before he sat back.

Merlin, a stupid-looking grin on his face, repeated, "_How_ do you want to get married, Arthur?"

"What do you mean _how_? We get married, that's it," Arthur said happily.

Merlin sighed. "You've got to be kidding," he said. Then Arthur just stared at him, and Merlin sighed again. "Okay, we're getting the check now and we're going to have a long conversation." He signaled to the waitress and she nodded at them.

"A conversation?" Arthur asked, confused, "About what?"

The waitress arrived with the check and Merlin took Arthur's credit card and put it inside. She left to process the check.

"You don't just _get_ married, Arthur," Merlin told him.

Arthur laughed. "Then how _exactly_ do people _get _married, Merlin, you have to _get_ married to _be_ married."

"There are more things then that," Merlin informed him.

"Like what, exactly?" Arthur asked arrogantly, leaning back in his chair.

"Would you like to continue to be Arthur Pendragon _or_ Arthur Emrys?" Merlin used for an example. "Bow ties or normal ones? Flowers? A traditional wedding or do you just want to sign papers? _How_ do you plan on telling _Ultraman_ that his son is marrying a bloke?"

Arthur still had a shocked face when the waitress returned with the receipt.

"Okay," Merlin said, dabbing at his face with a napkin, "I'll meet you tomorrow at your house."

"Aren't we going to go out?" Arthur asked, standing up. "I love going out."

"I'm going to bring a laptop and a notebook, wedding magazines, and a pack of energy drinks, 'k?" Merlin didn't wait for a reply. He kissed Arthur on the cheek, grabbed his coat from his chair, and was gone in the amount of time it took Arthur to say 'Goodnight, Merlin'.

Arthur sat back in his seat.

"He's a lively one, ain't he?" The waitress commented, collecting her tip from their table.

"You have no idea," Arthur laughed. He dropped his head back, staring at the roof. "We're getting married," Arthur told her, if only to hear himself say it.

"Good luck," the waitress said.

Arthur smiled. "I will need it," he realized.

...

**This is your review reminder. Review, pweez?**


	6. Chapter 6

**I haven't actually written any of this fic since I posted it. I've just been really sad and depressed lately and, since I have no Merlin episodes to watch, I'm just not into it that much anymore. I'm just horrified that 12****th**** street in New York is so far from where I live but it's the closest place Star of Milos is playing and I can't get there... **

…

Arthur woke up when something large and heavy jumped on him. "Wha..." he mumbled, trying to shove the thing away, but then Merlin tugged on his ear in his sensitive point and lifted Arthur to his feet.

Arthur rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawning loudly as he did so. "How'd you get in," he asked, lightly punching Merlin on the shoulder.

Merlin winced slightly, but ignored it. "Lance let me in," Merlin answered, "I _told_ you I was coming."

Arthur glanced at the clock and then turned to stare at Merlin in disbelief. "It's seven a.m.," Arthur could believe it, but it didn't stop him from getting angry, "_Why_ would you come at seven a.m.?"

"Okay," Merlin rolled his eyes, "I got carried away."

Arthur followed Merlin's gaze to the side of his bed and saw a huge mound of _things_. "_What_," Arthur demanded, "_is that_?"

"I found a lot of magazines, Wedding Planner, and a special one for gay and lesbian weddings, something for newlyweds, four magazines about tropical honeymoons, two about cruises, six more wedding magazines, a housing magazine for New York City-"

"What's wrong with here?" Arthur asked, confused.

Merlin started at him. "You want me to live _here_?"

"Yes," Arthur said, "with me."

"And Lance," Merlin added.

"And me," Arthur repeated.

"Arthur, we need a _house_ or at least a big apartment, this is a bachelor flat. A _shared_ bachelor flat. The few times I've slept here with you," then Merlin frowned, "and of course, not _slept_ here the way a boyfriend should," Arthur opened his mouth to protest but Merlin continued, "I've woken up at ten in the morning to either protein shakes being made, Lance's heterosexual romance with Gwen, or you and Lance deciding to _go for a run_."

"We wouldn't live here forever," Arthur protested.

"Lance is a bad influence on you, he exercises, eats no junk food, _and_ agrees with your abstinence. Lance is not being invited to our wedding." Merlin said defiantly.

Arthur crossed his arms. "If we have a wedding ceremony, Lance is my best man."

"_IF_ we have a ceremony!" Merlin suddenly seemed incredibly stressed. "We have to figure all this out! Only Lance and Gwen know of all your friends, and _I_ at least told my mother, but your dad doesn't know... although we don't have to tell him because I'm rather scared he's going to kill me... We _don't_ know where we're going to live, we don't know half the things, and I'm extremely busy with a new project at work and now I'm getting married!" Merlin's eyes were wide, his voice breathless.

Arthur grabbed Merlin's shoulders and pulled him close. He pressed his lips on Merlin's and they just breathed for a moment. Merlin gently wrapped his arms around Arthur's, he carefully moved so that he was practically and comfortably in Arthur's lap. Then Merlin pushed Arthur a bit closer and licked the top of Arthur's teeth, and Arthur, who really should have been used to that by now, leaned back down in bed and took Merlin with him.

He opened his legs and Merlin fell between them. Sucking on Arthur's lower lip, Merlin tilted his face up to press their chests together. Arthur curled his fingers in Merlin's hair, a pleasant smile crossing his lips even as he kissed Merlin with a fervent concentration.

"Morning breath," Merlin said, pulling back slightly.

"As if you care," Arthur said with pretend arrogance. And then he grabbed Merlin's head, jamming their lips back together. His arms wrapped around Merlin's shoulders, his hands sliding down Merlin's slender arms. "_Mer_lin," Arthur whispered. He pressed his lips against Merlin's cheek, and then his ear, and then to his nose, planting feather-light kisses on Merlin's face.

"Tickles," Merlin whispered back, chuckling.

The door to their room opened, and Lance was saying, "Do you want to go for a run n..." and then of course, Lance trailed off. And then Lance shut the door.

Arthur's eyes opened wide. "Lance!" He said suddenly. He forced his way out from under Merlin, saying, "One moment!" in response to Merlin's glare.

Arthur flung open the bedroom door and ran into the living room, managing to grab Lance's arm just as he was opening the door to leave the apartment, wearing his running suit and a rather purple complexion. "I have to tell you something!" Arthur announced, "I'm getting married!"

Lance froze, staring at Arthur in disbelief. "Married?" He repeated.

"Yes," Arthur said, smiling.

"To Merlin?" Lance asked.

Arthur frowned. "Of course I'm getting married to Merlin, who else would I be marrying? Morgana?"

"Uh," Lance searched for words. "Congratulations," he managed.

Arthur folded his arms. "Well, don't act excited or anything," he said dully.

"I wouldn't," Merlin informed Lance, stepping in front of Arthur, "Arthur was of the opinion that two people could just get married as if there wasn't any _work_ implied."

"Are you two," Lance gestured to Arthur and Merlin, "are you two _sure_ about this?"

Merlin frowned at Arthur. "He'd better be," Merlin threatened playfully.

"Yes," Arthur said, rolling his eyes at Merlin, "we are."

"Well," Lance said, nonchalantly putting his headphones in his ears, "good luck, Gwen and I have been planning the wedding for almost a year and we still haven't finished. She keeps changing her mind about the flowers and the dress."

"We won't have flowers," Arthur said definitely.

"_Or_ a dress," Merlin said, looking at Arthur with a slightly nervous face.

Lance nodded. "Well," he advised, "just make sure you're _sure_ and then whatever I suppose." He turned to leave and was shutting the door behind him when he opened it again and added, "And tell me when you decide to tell your father about this, Arthur, because I want to be a few hundred miles away from Metropolis when you do."

...

Somehow, _Arthur _had turned into the enthusiastic one, and _Merlin_ was the one wrapped up in the bedsheets.

"We wouldn't invite many people," Arthur was saying, "probably just Lance, maybe Gwen, your mother... and my father."

"I'm going to die!" Merlin cried. He grabbed one of Arthur's pillows and buried his face in it.

"You're not going to die," Arthur informed him, "don't be ridiculous." He had three magazines open at once, the one for gay weddings he'd opened to a place about how to find the right sort of a church, the Wedding Planner he'd opened up to the page for tuxedos and suits, and, because he hadn't been able to resist, he was currently flipping through The Tropical Honeymoon.

"Ultraman's going to throw me into the sun!" Merlin moaned. However, the pillow muffled his words and it sounded like "Uldamangontatrownanatadasoon!" which took Arthur a long moment to translate.

"Only one person has ever been thrown into the sun and that was Backlash, and he was the greatest supervillain of all time," Arthur told him. _Jamaica_, Arthur thought, staring at a picture of a very slender, dark haired model who reminded him of Merlin and was perched tastefully on a rock overlooking a gorgeous view.

Merlin threw the pillow against the wall. "This is what's going to happen," Merlin despaired, "you're going to be like 'I've been seeing someone' and Ultraman will be like 'who' and you'll be like 'this bloke' and Ultraman will be like 'no way' and then he'll tear me to shreds and then you'll be like 'we were going to get married' and Ultraman will be like 'you can marry Angelina Jolie instead' and then I'll be _dead_ and you'll be marrying a _girl_!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and stared at Merlin.

"I'm gunna die," Merlin moaned. And he grabbed Arthur's blanket and pulled it over his head.

Arthur sighed and stood up. He walked to the side of the bed and sat down, touching Merlin's side. "Merlin," Arthur coaxed, trying to pull the blanket down.

Merlin only pulled the blanket closer.

"You're going to suffocate," Arthur warned.

"Then at least I won't die painfully!" Merlin cried out, his voice slightly muddled by the blanket.

"_Mer_lin," Arthur tempted, trying to pull the blanket out of Merlin's grip without tearing the blanket or breaking Merlin's fingers, "I _will_ order you a bow tie for the wedding."

"Bow ties are cool," Merlin mumbled, keeping a steel-like grip on the blanket.

"Bow ties have never been cool," Arthur sighed. Thinking for a moment, he shoved the tangled mess of blankets which, somewhere, contained his boyfriend and said, "You don't have to be there when I tell my father."

Merlin relented on the blanket enough to peer his face out and blink his outrageously appealing blue eyes at Arthur. "I should be there," he said quietly, "we're getting married."

"And _I_ should have told him a long time ago," Arthur confessed. "I don't deny it, it's not going to be pretty. My father would never hurt you, he might scream and insult you, but he'd never blow a hole through you or something-"

Merlin moaned and covered his face with the pillow again.

"Merlin," Arthur said, "we have to pick which country we're going to have our honeymoon." Even that didn't get Merlin out of bed. "Come on," Arthur cried out in exasperation, "it'll be fine, I promise! Get up!"

"It's safe here," Merlin protested, the blanket muddling his voice.

"If Ultraman really wanted to kill you the blanket wouldn't make much difference," Arthur reminded Merlin.

Merlin let his face out from the blanket. "If I can't see it then it doesn't exist," he said stubbornly, sticking out his tongue.

"You're not five, Merlin," Arthur informed him.

"If I was five then you'd have to tell your father you're a pedophile too and it would be worse," Merlin let a smile cross his face.

"If you were five," Arthur poked Merlin under the ribs where he knew Merlin was sensitive, "then I'd have to wait even longer for you to grow up."

Merlin smiled brighter. "Virgin," Merlin said, meaning the word to tease but saying it with something akin to awe.

"Not after the honeymoon," Arthur said pointedly, "which, if you don't help, _will_ end up at a ski resort."

Merlin's eyes widened considerably. "I can't ski!" He shouted.

Arthur reached down, picking up a magazine. "Can you swim?" Arthur asked, "Because I _did_ notice that all of these honeymoon magazines involved tropical beaches and very expensive resorts."

"I've never gone to a tropical place," Merlin explained, "or a resort... or a cruise."

"We're going to have a long honeymoon then," Arthur grinned, "you must be planning to wear me out."

"Absolutely," Merlin finally sat up, ridding himself of the blanket, "that's the point of a honeymoon, to have incredible stuff available that you can't do because you're too sore."

"So," Arthur flipped to one page, "you have Bermuda, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Spain, but there's also this new resort in the West Indes, but I don't think a cruise goes to it; but we can take a cruise, end it some place like Jamaica or Cuba, and then stay there for about a week and then take a cruise back."

Merlin kissed Arthur's cheek. "_Told_ you there's more to a wedding than just 'getting married'."

"I stand corrected, alright? So let's make some plans." Arthur kissed Merlin back.

...

Merlin tapped his foot anxiously, glaring at the people around him. "You are all complete wastes of my money," Merlin growled.

A scary looking, tattoo-covered black man, bald and with numerous scars on his face, frowned at Merlin. "Magic Man, sir," he tried to say reasonably, "you can't just insult us without telling us something to do."

Merlin looked curiously at the man. "Why did I hire you?" He wondered, stepping forward and letting his cape swish about his ankles, "I don't even need an assassin."

"I'm a weapons specialist," the tattooed man corrected.

"Why do I even have minions?" Merlin asked himself rhetorically, "I did fine the first month by myself."

"What's this about?" Another scary-looking person, this time a woman with punk green hair, demanded.

Merlin looked at her for a moment. Then he looked at the fourteen other people under his employ. "You're all terrible people," Merlin realized, "and I'm a terrible person."

A red-headed man, with former ties to the Irish Mob in Metropolis, spoke up nervously, "Is something bothering you, Mr. Magic Man, sir?"

Merlin sighed, walked over to the wall, and pressed his head against it. He would have banged his head against the wall but he likely would have injured himself due to the porcelain mask between them.

Someone was about to come over to Merlin, to help him or something, but Merlin held up a hand to stop him. "Wait," Merlin said, "I need to think."

The fifteen 'minions' all had incredible respect for their leader, the infamous Magic Man, because he was the highest paying supervillain and the easiest one to get along with because, unlike almost every other, he didn't kill his henchmen at the drop of a hat. So, they all waited as Merlin asked them.

_I am a terrible person,_ Merlin thought, _I tricked someone into getting married to me. Sure, it was fine while we're dating, I was just doing the old fashioned hero thing where you have the secret identity, except I was a supervillain with a secret identity. And now Arthur wants to marry me, and I really, really, really want to marry Arthur._

_ There's only the small problem that I'M A SUPERVILLAIN!_ Merlin, thinking, sat down against the wall, leaning the back of his head against the cool metal of his lair. _Arthur's going to be taking over the Justice Union soon. Arthur's going to be the next Ultraman. Arthur can't be the next Ultraman and be married to the Magic Man. Arthur could though, be married to Merlin Emrys, couldn't he? Because even that's a stretch, because what gay person are straight men going to trust to lead them into battle?_ Merlin frowned, resting his chin on his knees. _I've already brought Arthur this far, I can't take him any farther._

_ I also can't not tell Arthur that I'm the Magic Man._

_ I could tell Arthur that I was the Magic Man. As in past tense, as in over-with, as in done._

Merlin looked up at his expectant fifteen employees. "I'm afraid this is it," Merlin announced, "my enterprise is over." At their disbelieving glares, Merlin stood up and made up a number of reasons on the spot. "The Justice Union is retiring at the end of the year, and I've done great work against them up until now, and I'd like to keep it that way. Quitting while I'm ahead guarantees me the role of a legend. But," Merlin added to appease the dangerous assassins who were now very mad at him, "I haven't forgot your salaries, so I say that we go out with a bang. A bang that brings me back to my roots, of course, and that was robbing banks."

.

The good thing about planning ahead was that Merlin could just sit back, relax, and watch the entirety of his plan unfold from his lair. Merlin had at least fifty evil plans he had yet to use, but unfortunately he was only getting ten in at this last time. But it was enough.

Considering there was the return of the giant toad, actually the former toad's mate, a bomb scare in the subway, the bombs were all made of either sugar or cheese, a clown gone rampant in the part and trying to kill people, the clown was drugged and under the misapprehension that everyone else was a clown and because he was mortally afraid of clowns and also had a knife things got ugly very fast, the security system for an entire skyscraper had suddenly gone into loc kdown mode allowing no one in or out, the ventilation systems were working but it would take a long time for them to realize that, an entire block in the downtown area were reporting their homes being broken into by armed robbers, the people had no idea that their phones were calling the police, and five other chaotic things were happening, Merlin could easily see why it was so easy for only six of his fifteen men to rob the Middlesex National Bank, downloading over a billion dollars into a secure account and running out with as many bills as they could fit in the oversized hockey bags they were carrying.

Merlin didn't even have to lift a finger. He had no idea why people thought being a supervillain would be so difficult, because in reality it was so, very, easy. Of course, Merlin might just have a knack for it.

And that would be very annoying, because Merlin had never been good at anything in his life, not even using his own superpower, and it would just be ironic that he was trading the only thing in his life he had ever been good at for the only thing in his life that had ever been good.

"Alright," Merlin spoke into his monitor, "the heroes are starting to clean up the city, everyone go home, the funds are automatically shifting into your bank accounts. It was a pleasure working with you." Merlin shut off the microphone, and then, with a magical wave of his hand, he shut off his monitors.

Another, rather nostalgic motion, saw him covering his lair with several white sheets. And as the white sheets fell over his monitors and tesla coils and assorted projects that had never yet been unleashed upon the general public, Merlin felt this strange sense of regret. "It's over," Merlin reminded himself.

He took off his mask and then looked at it for a long moment. "The Magic Man," Merlin said, his voice thick with pride, "the greatest supervillain since Backlash, Merlin Emrys." Merlin smiled at it sadly. "I finally did something memorable and it had to be this," he realized, chuckling. "Mother was right," Merlin said quietly. _I should tell her I'm done,_ he thought, _she might be happy again. _And Merlin smiled at the thought.

With yet another wave of his hand, Merlin could feel the entire lair shutting down. The forever burning lights, the deathtraps all ready to go, turned off with a quiet whine.

Merlin had just enough time as the power shut to see the intruder alarm go off.

"Not good," Merlin mumbled, his eyes widening considerably. He pressed the mask back onto his face, running to the door to pull it open.

The door he was running to flew apart.

There was a hero standing in the door, a hero in gold, red, and black. His entire face was covered with a red mask with two large black sheets of cloth where his eyes must be that he must have somehow been able to see through, a black cape hung around his shoulders, and as he stepped forward his muscles rippled with power and rage.

"Would it make any difference to you if I told you I just retired?" Merlin asked. He didn't step backward, but he could feel the slow trickles of fear begin to claw at his insides. _Strong, _Merlin chastised himself, _you're the greatest supervillain ever, remember that. Don't be scared. _

The powerful, dark looking hero stepped forward.

_Don't be terrified_, Merlin added.

"You are under arrest," the hero said calmly, "you can go quietly and compliantly or you can be under arrest in a hospital for the rest of your life."

"Or I could not be under arrest at all," Merlin pointed out.

The hero stepped forward and Merlin couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to take six long steps back.

"Where'd you get that costume, it seems to me like a new design, and, I must say, you look ravishing," Merlin tried to grin, tried to find something funny, tried to get his magic to come out of its hiding place.

If he could turn his lair back on he could start one of his death machines, but the lair could only be turned on or off with Merlin's magic, and Merlin's magic liked to go away whenever Merlin was upset or afraid.

_This is not good,_ Merlin gulped, _if I go to jail for life Arthur will kill me._

"Come on," Merlin tried to plead confidently. The hero kept stepping forward and Merlin kept moving back. "Really, I swear, there's nothing else for me, I'm done, finished. That whole last chaos was my farewell scheme. Sionara the Magic Man, I'm hanging up my cape along with all the heroes."

"I'm the next generation," the hero stated flatly.

Merlin tried to laugh, but it came out as some strangled noise. His magic had disappeared due to his fear and now he couldn't help but grow more afraid as he realized that he had no magic to defend himself. "Would it make any difference if I told you that I have a sickly mother?" Merlin offered.

"You're lies, _villain_," the hero spat, "are useless. There's justice and that's it."

"There's also pity, or empathy, and mercy, and all those things heroes are supposed to have." Merlin ran out of room to back up and his mind rapidly, frantically started to work out some sort of escape. "I really do have a sickly mother," Merlin said, "she's part of the reason I'm quitting."

The hero didn't even reply. With every step closer Merlin realized just how big and muscular this hero was. Ultraman wouldn't even get the chance to kill him, this hero would kill him first and Merlin wouldn't even get to explain to Arthur anything about his mother, and the whole Magic Man thing, and about _Will_.

"I'm also getting married," Merlin offered, "just learned a few days ago." The hero didn't stop moving forward _slowly_. "I have twins, Siamese twins, two little girls joined at the heart and I couldn't pay to separate them, that's how the whole thing started," Merlin lied, "My father was hit by a truck, my mother's seriously depressed and tries daily to kill herself, my older brother is a drug addict, my uncle raped me, my older sister beat me up daily, seriously, what kind of environment is that to raise a child? No wonder I'm evil. But I've repented. Seriously. Honestly." Merlin tried again, "No more evil schemes for me, I've gone, kaplooey, the Magic Man is retiring. I'm too old for this. I'm an eighty-year-old man, you can't hit an eighty-year-old man."

The hero stepped closer, so close that Merlin could see his individual muscles.

"No, wait," Merlin continued, "I'm a girl. A twelve-year old girl. I'm wearing a wig, I really have blonde pigtails. And love lollipops, you can't hit a little girl, can you?"

And there it was, for a split moment, the hero hesitated.

And Merlin ran.

The hero was after him instantly, jumping forward. Merlin knew immediately that he'd judged him wrong. The hero's muscles were not only for strength, they were for speed.

A searing punch slammed into the back of Merlin's head, knocking Merlin into the wall of his lair. Merlin shouted. He slammed hard into the wall, the hand he'd held up instinctively was crushed between his chest and the cold steel.

Dazed, Merlin could hear the sound of his own breathing like drumbeats in his ears.

The hero grabbed Merlin's cape, lifting him up in the air by the scruff. He turned Merlin to face him, his other fist ready to make contact with Merlin's face again if necessary. The hero's hold on Merlin's neck caught Merlin's breath in his throat.

_Dead,_ Merlin thought, and because his mind seemed to fall into existentialist despair it continued, _dead, dead, dead, dead, dead._

"You're not as hard to beat as they make you sound," the hero observed. He slammed Merlin into the wall. The frightening superhero quickly grabbed both of Merlin's wrists in one strong hand. His fearsome gaze seemed to penetrate through his covered face to the holes in Merlin's porcelain mask.

_Calm_, Merlin thought. He was still, listening to his raid heartbeat.

At Merlin's lack of resistance, the superhero straightened imposingly. "For your crimes against Metropolis," the hero began, "you are under arrest. You have a right to remain silent, anything you-"

Merlin lashed out with his magic. The superhero's hand jerked open. Merlin jumped back, knowing he only had a few seconds. His magic lifted his feet into the air. Merlin's gaze fixed on a point on the roof, an exit.

The superhero lunged to grab him. With a start of surprise, Merlin's magic again retreated. The superhero's hand grasped Merlin's ankle. The two fell.

Merlin slammed against the concrete gray floor of his dead lair. Not letting himself have a chance to cry out in pain, he ran. But the superhero's hand was buried in the Magic Man's wig, and he held on.

Merlin didn't have time to think. He wrenched the mask off his face. His magic was only faintly tingling in his fingernails, and as he took quick long strides he tried to get his magic to make him faster. Merlin was almost at the door when the shocked superhero spoke and stopped him.

"_Merlin_?"

Merlin looked back. His eyes widened.

The pieces came together. A superhero, superstrength, new generation. _Arthur_. Merlin's heart pounded with something not quite fear, and his magic vanished. Vulnerable, Merlin stopped.

The powerful superhero was only yards away. He dropped the Magic Man's mask. The superhero stepped forward. "I can't..." he breathed, "I can't believe... _you_?"

"I..." Merlin fumbled for words. "I have an explanation," he offered lamely. He couldn't remember any explanation.

"You!" The superhero shouted, "Is Arthur a game to you?"

_Arthur_? Merlin blinked. _He's not Arthur_, Merlin realized with a sigh of relief. He blinked. _Who then? _Merlin ventured carefully, "Lance?"

"_Of course_ it's me!" Lance spat angrily, "My _god, _Merlin! Arthur's bleeding gay boyfriend!"

"No, oh no," Merlin insisted, "It's not _like that_, I swear." Merlin wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not, but in the pause the aches and bruises on his body began to flare up in pain. He pressed his back against the cool wall, trying to catch his lost breath.

Lance stepped forward, pulling the superhero mask off his face. His expression was livid. "Then _what,_" he emphasized with malice, "_is it?_"

"It's over, I meant it, I'm done. I don't need the money anymore-"

"You _needed_ over six billion dollars?" Lance's lip curled contemptuously. He slid off his mask to face Merlin, slamming the cloth on the ground next to Merlin's mask. This wasn't an expression Merlin had ever seen on him, or on anyone. It was an uncomfortable feeling, being hated that much.

"At first," Merlin tried to explain, "at first we needed the money. There were bills and Mum had three jobs and I couldn't get a scholarship to college. We had _nothing_. After _everything_ we'd been through!" Merlin felt his voice rise with anger, "So, _yes_, I stole enough to get the credit card companies and my damned run-away Dad's gambling debts off out backs!" Merlin stepped forward, looking Lance straight in the eye. "And you know what? Maybe Mum and I deserved a break, maybe after years of looking over out shoulders and having no dinner because we have to pay off angry men with guns because 'Dad' dropped off the face of the earth after _ruining _our lives and Mum has to but up with _jerks_ at Hooters and _fucking_ drunks as boyfriends just so we can have a roof over our heads and then _Will got shot_ and none of you _precious_ heroes were there, maybe you all _deserve _a giant frog or a rabbit infestation! Maybe Mum _deserves_ good meals or a nice dress! Maybe I _deserve_, for once, to be happy!" His chest was heaving. Merlin dared Lance to contradict him.

Lance was staring in blatant shock. Merlin felt himself calming down. He quietly leaned back against the metal wall. Merlin felt a blush spread over his face.

"But I'm done," Merlin mumbled, "Mum has money and I'm getting married. So. So, I'm done." He looked quietly down at his gloved hands. Nostalgia only now reared its ugly head. The Magic Man _was _gone. No more of the thrill of a perfectly executed plan, the joy of using the full power of his magic, or the challenge of facing the world's most powerful people; gone. Without the whur of machinery, the lair seemed to echo the sentiment. Merlin looked at the Magic Man mask on the floor, and decided to leave it where it was. A large, complicated, grave site.

"Does Arthur know?" Lance asked softly.

Merlin found his eyes preoccupied with something off in the distance. "No," he said plainly.

Lance moved closer. He placed his free hand on Merlin's shoulder. "He needs to know."

Merlin shrugged Lance's hand off his shoulder. "He doesn't have to know now," Merlin tried,

"You should tell him," Lance said sternly, "Arthur would understand-"

"I'll tell Arthur if he _ever_ tells his father about _me_!" Merlin regretted saying those words immediately after they came out of his mouth. He could feel a raw emotion there, a deep hurt he had never allowed himself to feel before. It was only when those pain ridden words were spoken that Merlin understood exactly what Arthur's silence was doing to him.

Lance seemed completely at a loss for what to do. "Okay," he muttered, "listen, Merlin. If I hugged you, that wouldn't be weird, right?"

Merlin paused for a moment and then gently shook his head. Lance reached his arms around the supervillain, pulling him in for a firm hug. Merlin rested his chin on Lance's shoulder. Unbidden, sorry tears were threatening to come to his eyes but Merlin forced them back.

"_God_," Lance mumbled, "you look like an abused puppy."

"Sorry," Merlin said.

Lance chuckled despairingly. He let go of Merlin. "Don't," he ordered," Merlin you've... I never thought villains could... could..."

"Have a reason behind what they did?" Merlin finished for him.

Lance nodded. "Who was Will?"

Merlin paused. "He..." his face flushed when he remembered everything he'd revealed. "He was a friend. A boyfriend. From high school."

Lance sighed. "I take it Arthur doesn't know," he stated.

"He knows about my dad... I might have mentioned Will once... um..." Merlin blinked.

Lance clamped a hand down on Merlin's shoulder, their almost equal height letting them look eye to eye. "I'll talk to Arthur about Uther," he promised, then added, "If you talk to Arthur about everything."

Merlin hesitated, and then nodded.

...

**This is your review reminder. Review, pweez?**


	7. Chapter 7

** I hate fangirling. You fall in love and not only is it unrequited, no one cares AND people call you stupid.**

…

"What's happening?" Uther demanded, sitting down in his chair. He turned around to face the monitors. The Justice Union headquarters was almost exactly like every other conference room in Uther's enterprise, except for the three-dimensional screens and the chairs color coded for every member. There used to be ten chairs, now there were five No one had yet to remove Floralady's chair.

Falconman explained, "We only discovered it a few minutes ago. I've already sent an alarm. The students at the university are being evacuated in case one of them decides to take a leaf out of the Magic Man's book and drop a building on it. I interrupted the Maths classes. The students were delighted."

"_Get on with it_," Uther growled.

"Yes, sorry," Falconman apologized. "Anyway, only five or so managed to escape. But... from _that_ wing."

Uther frowned. "_Which_ villains escaped, Falcon?"

Falconman had a laser pointer in his hand and he pointed at a picture on the three dimensional screen as he clicked a button to change the slide. "Numbers," Falconman said first. He circled the laser around a thin man with a long white beard and dark purple glasses. No one knew where he had come from or what he wanted, no one except Floralady, and she had died at Number's hand. "He was-"

"Floralady's nemesis, we _know_, Eddy," the Girl Wonder chastened.

"You're not supposed to call me that," Falconman frowned.

The Girl Wonder rolled her eyes. "You've been my partner for thirty years, I can call you what I like, brown and gold spandex or not," she teased.

"Stop this immediately," Uther ordered. "Edward, continue to explain."

Falconman shot Uther a glare, but continued, "Numbers shared a cell with The Tunneler, he's escaped as well," he indicated to a short, squat man with wildy shaggy hair and large, cracked red lips that seem to cover the majority of his face. Falconman's expression was dark. He'd fought The Tunneler many times. He was one of the more dangerous villains, because he was _not_ insane. He was merely an existentialist to the extreme. If nothing mattered, then The Tunneler believed that living his life to the fullest meant doing what he loved. Living in the earth, killing things, and stealing anything he desired, from jewels to women. He was the typical dragon-esque, if Falconman could be the knight in shining armour, and the maiden died more-often-then-not.

"The Tunneler is yours," the Girl Wonder noted.

Falconman nodded. "Yes, mine." He moved onto the next picture. "Then is the late Sundancer's, the Brown Reclusia." The woman on the screen was attractive, with straight brown hair that reached to her ankles. She was staring straight at the camera, her eyes so bloodshot they were dark red.

Uther flinched at that. The Brown Reclusia had dark, fearsome powers. Her story was gruesome. Her husband had been Sundancer's brother, a man who'd originally been suspected to only have one power. A flash of radiation had resurfaced a power to him, which had escalated from lack of control. Sundancer's brother ended up accidentally killing their son, and Sundancer, declaring his own younger brother a danger to society, had him executed. The Brown Reclusia had vowed revenge for the death of her husband and son, and that revenge meant the death of Sundancer. She'd succeeded. After that, she hadn't been satisfied. She wanted every hero dead. "And the other two?" Uther pressed.

"Scorpion," the next man on the page was Arabian, his every exposed part covered in a long white cloth. There was a rumor he wasn't even alive, and certainly it was rare when anyone could get close to him. Under his cloth was a deadly poison, if it was removed whoever did so would die. It was his goal to steal back every artifact stolen from the ancient tombs of his people, which could have been noble except he believed that all those who had ever possessed or even touched the artifacts should die.

"Mine," the Girl Wonder nodded.

"And the last..." Falconman swallowed. Nervously, he looked up at Uther. There was terror in his eyes.

"No." Uther snapped. "That's impossible."

"We have reason to believe the Magic Man let everyone out. Considering the chaos the town has been in, it was perfectly planned as a cover. And we all _know_ that the Magic Man does the impossible regularly." Falconman leaned against the table. "He was hidden, but..."

"He can't have gotten free! Every _possible_ security was on him!" The Girl Wonder's face expressed only the most terrible horror.

Uther closed his eyes. "Backlash." He said softly.

His nemesis. His old friend.

"Who could possibly have known?" Falconman wondered. His head bowed against his chest.

"Besides myself, only the four of you."

"Not Jaygirl, she hasn't arrived." The Girl Wonder said. Then she paused.

Falconman took a deep breath, letting it out in a loud sigh. "That's how they found out. Jaygirl." He looked at the five seats around the long table. "We only need three of these now."

Uther shook his head. "No. We need more seats. Arthur's team will have to be on duty starting today."

"They haven't even finished the Academy!" The Girl Wonder protested.

"Arthur's the top of his class, he always has been. He's better than even I was at that age. His team is the best I've seen. He's ready, and even if they aren't, they'll have to be." Uther's eyes were hard; his decision was made.

...

Arthur, dressed as quickly as he could, had his phone in hand and was rushing out of his apartment, calling Merlin. Merlin had not picked up his phone since the entire fiasco with the Magic Man, and Arthur was finally free to find him.

The last Magic Man fiasco, Merlin had apparently been outside watching the entire thing. It was really Arthur's own fault that he fell in love with a normal person who liked running headlong into danger. He was just thinking that he was like Superman and Merlin was Lois Lane when he opened the door to his apartment and Ultraman flew into the apartment via the window.

Arthur turned around and shut the door. "Dad," he said with surprise.

Uther looked for a long moment at Arthur's clothes, which clashed so horribly Arthur really should have taken the time to look at what he was wearing. "Arthur, you are going to change, aren't you?"

Arthur laughed nervously. "Yes," he said.

"I'm sorry I could not respond to your calls, as you must have seen in the news I've been busy."

"About those calls," Arthur began, his heart pounding.

Uther shook his head, his gold and white costume catching the light as he did so, which just made him look even more imposing in Arthur's eyes. "Now is not the time, there is an emergency, I need you to gather your team for a briefing at the Justice Union."

Arthur blinked. "_Now_?"

"Yes, Arthur." Uther said, "There's a very tense issue on our hands."

"There's also something else, something very important that I need to tell you," Arthur tried, "you see, Father, I-"

"Unless the matter absolutely needs to be discussed now, Arthur, then please allow me to explain the other," Uther snapped.

Arthur was about to say 'Yes, it's important, I'm getting married!' when he caught Uther's eyes. Straightening his posture, Arthur shook his head. "No," Arthur said, "it's just a personal matter."

...

Merlin was sitting down on a bench, downtown, waiting for a bus. He'd traded his costume for his normal clothes, a long shirt, just pants, and a scarf and jacket for the cold weather. His phone as in his hands, and he frowned at it.

Dead. He'd forgotten to recharge the battery. Otherwise he'd have called his mother to pick him up. Merlin didn't actually have any money on him for the bus either, but he couldn't exactly walk across the entire city. His final criminal act would have to be robbing the city of five dollars.

A woman sat down next to Merlin. She was engrossed in an exclusive, her head bent over the newspaper. She was old, which explained why she was still using a newspaper.

Merlin, slightly curious and very bored, leaned slightly forward to read the cover.

Confirmed: Four Supervillains Escape From Bran Prison, 11:45, 1-4-2010 Tunneler, Scorpion, Brown Reclusia, Numbers

"Hell," Merlin said softly, his eyes widening.

"I know," the old woman said, "to _think_ he's cheating on _her_."

She was obviously reading a different story. Merlin ignored her, his mind was reeling.

Four supervillains had escaped? It was obviously big news if it had been printed only three hours after the fact. Merlin froze. They'd escaped during his 'sendoff'.

_He'd _provided the distraction that let the villains escape!

The entire thing was whirling out of control. Merlin hadn't meant for that to happen, he'd just wanted to do his final act, he hadn't even _thought_ about other villains. For all the months he'd been working, Merlin had been the _only_ supervillain. Somewhere in his mind he'd forgotten they even existed. They were _free_, the other villains were _loose. _They weren't _like_ Merlin; people had _died_ during their schemes! They wanted people to die!

Merlin dropped his head in his hands.

They were enemies of the Justice Union. Merlin wasn't their enemy, not really, the Justice Union just got in his way and Merlin annoyed them. He didn't want any member of the Justice Union hurt, especially their leader. Ultraman was going to become Merlin's _father-in-law_.

And _Arthur_ was 'next generation'. These supervillains would be targeting _Arthur, THEY'D __WANT TO HURT ARTHUR! _

Merlin was not going to let that happen. He clenched his fist, feeling his magic rush to him, powerful and strong.

...

Arthur wasn't in his apartment, and neither was Lance. Merlin sat down at the kitchen and waited.

After awhile he moved to the couch, turned on the television, and then fell asleep with it on. It had been a long day, and Merlin was, frankly, exhausted.

He had the vague sensation of being carried, and then placed down on a comfortable bed. Strong arms wrapped around his middle, burying against Merlin's chest.

...

When Merlin woke up he was being hugged like a teddy bear and Arthur was snoring loudly in his ear. It was still very early, and Arthur had fallen asleep in a suit. There were deep lines around Arthur's eyes. So Merlin settled back down, trying to ignore the snoring, and let him sleep.

...

The great warmth covering him moved after a moment, but then came back. After, Arthur could hear the faint sounds of pages turning. He pressed himself in deeper, his head resting on the bony surface, the rest of him wrapped in the blanket. A gentle hand lightly combed through Arthur's hair, enticing him to stay in the place between waking and sleep.

There was sunlight managing to come through the curtains, enough light for Merlin to read by but to keep Arthur's eyelids heavy. Merlin let out a quiet sigh, and Arthur echoed it to let him know he was awake.

"Hey," Merlin said softly. He slid back down in the bed, moving up closer to Arthur. He was cuddling, but Arthur decided to let it go without a comment. "The villains?" Merlin was asking, his hand slightly shaking in Arthur's hair.

"Father..." Arthur took a deep breath, muttering into Merlin's stomach, "graduated two teams. I'm leader... Pellinor's leader of the... other one. Gunna be taking shifts. Catch them. Back in jail."

Merlin's lips pressed against the tip of Arthur's nose and Arthur smiled. "You'll get them, I know you will," Merlin whispered.

Arthur's smile faded. He gently shook his head.

"Arthur," Merlin began, "You're the best fighter. You could do this without even a single power. You're going to be a great leader."

"I shouldn't be the leader," Arthur said. He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust them to the light.

"I don't think there's anyone better than you," Merlin said. His voice and face was serious.

Arthur stared at him. He nodded, though he wasn't sure what he was nodding to.

"Are you awake?" Merlin asked, his eyes staring at Arthur in question.

Arthur smirked. "Obviously."

Merlin leaned back against the headboard. His hand left Arthur's hair, trailing down his shoulder before falling to the mattress. "I have something to tell you," Merlin told Arthur, swallowing.

Arthur slowly untangled the blanket from his legs. He grimaced for a moment at the deep wrinkles in his suit. He'd forgotten to change, but he had come back at about five in the morning. Arthur glanced at the clock as he pulled himself up to be sitting next to Merlin. It was almost eleven. "Well?" He asked. Arthur looked at him.

Merlin was shaking.

"Merlin?" Arthur blinked in surprise.

"I..." Merlin tried. He dropped his head in his hands.

Arthur spent a long moment, unsure what to do, then he wrapped one arm around Merlin, pulling him against his shoulder. "Did someone hurt you?" Arthur asked, his fists clenching at the thought.

"No, no, no one," Merlin blinked to hold back shining eyes. "I..." He took a deep, quivering breath.

"It's alright, whatever you want to say," Arthur assured. But as Merlin hesitated, possibilities began to surface in his mind. "We're breaking up?" Arthur asked, eyes widening.

But Merlin shook his head wildly.

"Are..." Arthur tried, "Did you cheat on me?"

"_God_, no," Merlin grimaced at the thought. "It's not... not like that..." He swallowed.

"Did your mother die?" Arthur jumped, wrapping his other arms and pulling Merlin until he was practically in his lap.

"No, she's fine. She's doing better. Tomorrow she's going to an opera with friends from a book club," Merlin told Arthur, his voice growing stronger. "It's..." He took another deep breath. Arthur had pulled his head against his shoulder, so Merlin had to look up to see Arthur eye to eye. "What would you do if I... if I did something terrible?"

"Did you kill someone?" Arthur asked immediately.

"No!" Merlin sighed. "I told you..." He closed his eyes. "Remember a while ago, I told you I had a power? The telekinesis?"

Arthur nodded, "You said it was... was..."

"Bad, temperamental, that's what I said, I, I meant, I..." Merlin had to take another deep breath. "It's not... exactly telekinesis. It's different. It doesn't have a category."

Arthur frowned. "Merlin, I don't understand."

"I was..." Merlin swallowed again. His hands clenched Arthur's shirt, wrinkling it further. "I used to be a villain."

Arthur laughed. "Right," he chuckled, pressing one finger to Merlin's ear. "_You_. Merlin, I was scared there for a moment." He laughed again, but then his gaze caught Merlin's.

"_Arthur_," Merlin said seriously.

Arthur paused, his mind reeling. This was _Merlin_, it couldn't... this was _Merlin_ who gave him sweet kisses and tried to force them into bed, who laughed at stupid jokes, who was clumsy and a right idiot sometimes. _Merlin_.

"I was... I know I should have, earlier, but I... I thought I could just... Secret identity, you know?" Merlin's eyes were pleading with him. "I just never thought it would... be so hard to keep from thinking all the time. And I just... I mean... the _cinnamon buns_, remember? The first time I saw you?"

Arthur's eyes widened. "You mean... _how did you know about that_?" Arthur jumped out of the bed, standing up. His fists were clenched.

"Arthur, I was _there_," Merlin wiped the tears away from his eyes. He hesitated, frowning. "_God_, I knew I'd be a girl."

"_MERLIN_, _what do you mean_?"

Merlin's red gaze met Arthur's. "We didn't met at that prom, in the park. We met... when I... when the Martin Accountancy Building fell on Hero University."

"And _you_ kidnapped me?" Arthur asked, his expression harsh.

"Yes," Merlin told him. "I... and I know you can't fly."

"Because you're a villain," Arthur snapped.

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "It's not like _you're _so innocent. When did _you_ plan on telling _me_ that you couldn't fly? That _the Magic Man_ tricked the Justice Union into voting you as leader?"

Arthur glared at him. "Oh? Well, you're right! I wasn't even supposed to be leader!"

"Yes, you are!" Merlin shouted. He stood, stepping closer to Arthur. "You're going to be a leader! You're going to be the best damn leader the Justice Union has ever had!"

"And why should I trust _a supervillain_?" Arthur yelled.

"Because I love you!" Merlin growled.

"I..." Arthur's face fell. "I don't know... I don't..." He stared at Merlin. "But you're _Merlin_," he said, his voice laced with astonishment, "you can't. How do I know you're really a villain?"

"I fed you cinnamon buns," Merlin said softly, a small smile crossing his face, "I tricked Jaygirl into believing you could fly so the Justice Union would vote you leader. I think only the two of us know that."

Arthur snorted. "Stupid cinnamon buns," he mumbled. He paused, eyes widening in realization. "You hung me over a _vat of acid_," Arthur remembered incredulously.

"Oh," Merlin said.

"You, you, stupid," Arthur suddenly smiled, "you _idiot_! You've completely ruined _everything_, you know that?"

Merlin grimaced. "What do you mean?"

The smile stayed on Arthur's face, seemingly the result of shock. "I can't let my father know I married a villain, I can't, I mean, it's against everything!" Arthur laughed. "I promised myself..." He closed his eyes painfully. "_Morality_, that's the greatest thing a superhero has. That's what my father always said. I thought... I thought that if I just did _everything else _perfect, then I could have you, then I would deserve this." Arthur sat down on the bed, dropping his head in his hands. "I can't... I can't lie to my father... I can't... I, there are rules. Rules about the conduct of a hero. I have _always_ followed them. And maybe it doesn't say expressly that a hero can't be homo... homosexual but it... it _does_ say... a hero can't be with a villain, can't. Can't."

Merlin sat down next to him. "I..." he held his hands in front of him helplessly. "I'm not a villain anymore."

"Because you have five others to do your bidding?" Arthur growled.

"I didn't do that, Arthur, I _swear_," Merlin pleaded, "Arthur, I had no idea that would happen!"

Arthur looked at the floor. "I know," he said.

Merlin smiled sadly. "You do?"

Arthur nodded slowly. "I do," he said. Then the thought of those words caused his hands to shake. "But... Merlin, I'd rather be with you than be the hero." He closed his eyes tightly, painfully when he said those words.

Merlin couldn't help the probably stupid looking grin that crossed his face. He grabbed Arthur's hand, and Arthur closed his fingers around them. "We don't have to tell anyone," Merlin told him, "we don't. No one has to know who I was. The only people who know are... are my mum and Lance so-"

"_Lance _knows?" Arthur shouted.

"He found out last night. After a bit." Merlin could still feel the bruises, and he made the mistake of touching one and wincing.

Arthur grabbed Merlin's free hand. "After a bit of _what_," he asked dangerously.

"Well, he was in his costume and I was in mine and we fought until my mask came off while I was trying to get away and then..." Merlin shrugged. "Then that."

Arthur stood up. "I'm going to talk to him," he growled.

Merlin blinked. "What?"

"I can't believe... Lance is a trained hero, he shouldn't have been fighting you-"

"He didn't know it was _me! _I'm the Magic Man! I defeated Ultraman, so there's no reason he's go easy on me!" Merlin protested.

Arthur froze. "Right," he managed, his throat dry, "you did do that, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

Arthur shakingly made his way back to the bed. He lowered himself down gently, his hand shaking. "And Lance isn't saying anything?"

"No. He just wanted me to tell you, and I sort of realized I should, because I mean, relationships with secrets never work, do they?" Merlin wondered.

Arthur took Merlin's hand in his own. "No, I suppose they don't. Heroes though always seem to have them."

"Well, do you have any secrets?" Merlin asked playfully, nudging Arthur in the side.

Arthur breathed. "I don't think I can think anymore," he mumbled. He lay down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.

"Right, it's gotta... settle or something, doesn't it?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin, stop talking," Arthur ordered.

"Fine," Merlin said.

"I meant it."

"I wasn't talking!"

"You are now!"

"I am not..." Merlin paused. "Sorry."

Arthur sighed, reaching up to cover his head with his hands. "You beat my dad," he muttered.

"Yeah, well, actually that was an accident. I was running and he followed me and there were these bricks... so," Merlin paused. "I'm sorry."

"Why does everything have to be so bloody complicated?" Arthur growled.

...

"So...?" Lance said pointedly.

"I did it. We're still together." Merlin announced.

Lance grinned. "There, and did Arthur tell Uther?"

Merlin hesitated. He leaned against the kitchen door, frowning. "Well... I..." He swallowed. "Not yet. We are in a crisis right now." Merlin suddenly found himself smiling. "Soon, though, when we clear this whole thing up."

"We?" Lance frowned.

Merlin shrugged. "It seems I've been rehabilitated to the side of the good. Except Arthur's making me change my supervillain name to something 'not lame', whatever that means."

"So, I suppose I'm fighting alongside you then."

"I'm your humble servant," Merlin said with a mock bow.

…

**This is your review reminder. Review, pweez?**

** .**

** Also, sorry, guys, I'm calling a TEMPORARY HALT / HIATUS on this fic so I can work on the uh... three other ones I published all at the same time (thank goodness I didn't publish all like 50 I'm working on... o_0). Sorry, but I'm leaving this one because it's a happy ending and I have no idea where it's going really... **

** If you want to give me messages suggesting plot ideas, that'd be great (except I'd still have to find the time to write it).**


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